An Ealing environmental group have criticised Ealing Council's Draft Local Plan for endangering the green belt areas in the borough. 

Ealing Council's Draft Local Plan is currently in a public consultation until 8th February and gives citizens a chance to have their say about the future development of the borough. 

Ealing Friends of the Earth have said that they feel that much of the planned development of Ealing will see the seven green belt areas under threat as they have been identified as locations for developments. 

Ealing Friends of the Earth said in a statement: "Nearly all the draft Local Plan is about encouraging development and population growth in Ealing. But we're concerned that means pressure to build on Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land.  

"We need that land to provide forests and cool green spaces as the climate gets even hotter. Once we build on Green Belt we will never get it back." 

Ealing Friends of the Earth cite Ealing's Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land Review, which states that in order to keep up with housing targets, green belt designations may have to be removed. 

The report said: "The London Plan sets Ealing a challenging target of providing 21,570 dwellings over the period 2019/20 – 2028/29… Given these housing pressures, and the scarcity of land for development, it is important to consider all the possible ways of meeting housing need.  

"This includes considering the possibility of Green Belt/MOL providing land for development to a limited extent. 

"The assessment of Ealing's seven current Green Belt sites shows that none of the sites score well against Green Belt objectives / criteria.  

"Consequently, it is recommended that the Green Belt designations are removed from all seven sites."