Ealing Council Leader Peter Mason has accused John Lewis of trying to bully through their plans for Waitrose West Ealing after they did not comply with the Local Plan. 

John Lewis announced on Thursday 23rd February their new plans for their proposed development of their store in West Ealing. 

Campaigners from Stop The Towers pointed out that the development would exceed the 13-storey guidance outlined by Ealing Council in the Draft Local Plan. 

Mason has now commented on the plans on Twitter and objects to both the height of the development, as well as the lack of affordable housing in the plans. 

He said: "Ealing needs genuinely affordable housing, above all, and above all other types housing. We need expensive homes for sale less than we need homes for the 11,000 families on our housing waiting list. But as ever, 97%+ of all homes built in Ealing are built by the private sector. 

"John Lewis are entering the Build-to-Rent market, so all of these homes will theoretically enter the private rental market, possibly helping to drive up standards and quality in a market that is dominated by cruddy homes and bad landlords." 

"Our recently published new Local Plan sets out very clear guidance on a range of sites that we believe will be developed over the next decade. The guidance here was for a 7 - 13 storey development. I'm certain that this will still be too big for some. 

"Those individual plans are supported by a lot of work that went into defining the character and heights of every part of the borough.  

"All of this is done to give confidence to residents and to stop developers running away with themselves. 

"All of this feedback has been given to the developers, directly, by Ealing's planners and politicians. 

"As far as I can see, they also haven't committed to at least 35% affordable homes on paper. Previous discussions suggested they'd even go lower. That won't stand. 

"How they choose to use all of this advice and guidance is up to them. But at the moment it feels like a big institution are trying to twist arms & bully through a scheme, that could be far better, through a precarious planning process using the ever-present threat of an appeal. 

"Ealing needs housing. This is true. So, we publish plans for a reason. To help guide developers and to give confidence to people about the changes happening around them." 

Mason then joked that if John Lewis were unable to see this guidance, then they should use some of the glasses that they sell. 

The plan put forward by John Lewis for Waitrose would see 430 build-to-rent homes created as part of the development, as well as a new Waitrose store, and a development of Alexandria Road, but it would involve one building being built that was 19 storeys tall.