EALING Council has deferred its controversial decision to demolish Perceval House and replace it with a 26-storey tower block.

Following a virtual meeting of the Planning Committee on Wednesday, February 17, the decision was made to defer.

Councillors voted seven to six to require changes to be made to the scheme to improve the housing mix after two hours of debate.

The decision was made after concerns were raised regarding the lack of affordable housing.

The limited number of units suitable for families was also a matter for concern, as only seven out of 477 flats were three-bed properties, with the others being one or two beds.

The joint venture project from Ealing Council and Vistry Partnerships laid out plans for six residential blocks of flats on the site – one being 26 storeys – and for 50% to be affordable homes by habitable room.

More than 1,400 objections to the online planning application have been received so far.

Local resident Fiona Peyton, Ealing Broadway Councillor Seema Kumar and Ealing Central and Acton MP Rupa Huq spoke against the development, citing concerns over height of the development impacting on neighbours, losing the character of the suburban centre and inadequate housing for families.

The Labour MP addressed the councillors and said: "Let's fix this now.

"Let's ensure that we can say to our children we did everything possible, not just conform to the bare minimum for a developer who wanted to turn a quick profit before getting out and leaving us to deal with the fallout."

She added that Ealing Council's Design Review Panel (DRP), which convenes in two weeks' time to adjudicate on future planning applications, should have the opportunity to scrutinise the proposals before any final decision is made.

Ealing Common Councillor, Praveen Anand called for the application to be deferred and said: "We're really not paying much attention and this being one of our properties and we're not paying much attention to the family mix.

"I really feel the three-bedroom emphasis which is not even 2%, is substantially low for a development we are actually pioneering so I'm really, really upset about that."

He added: "We're supposed to have a diverse community, we are actually forcing three-bed families in different areas, in deprived areas, why can't we have a combined community where everyone can mix together?"

After the meeting, Huq said: "I am delighted by the decision to defer.

"I simply could not stand to allow this 26-storey monster tower, so ill-suited to Ealing's housing needs, to be waived through.

"It's a proposal that was dreamt up pre-COVID by a greedy commercial developer, which is now completely inappropriate to future market demands when we are all told we face a new normal.

"The Council must insist on housing that tackles the spiralling number of working families on the housing waiting list - over 10,000 at the last count.

"It must insist on the very best fire safety practice.

"These blocks need two fire escapes - it's not a legal requirement, but post-Grenfell it's clearly the right thing to do.

"We now have the chance to rectify these problems and draw upon the expertise of the architectural experts that will sit on the Design Review Panel.

"I am clear that if these issues aren't addressed, then the Planning Committee must reject the application."

The plans will now be handed back to the developers to revise the scheme.