It is important to balance the needs of the borough residents for economic growth, jobs and access to transport with those of the environment in which they live. We believe that this local plan is damaging to the sustainability of a future Ealing. 

At a heated Local Plan meeting in Ealing Town Hall on Mon 6 Feb 2023 many local residents demonstrated their distrust of the Council and its Local Plan which will close for consultation on Wed 8 Feb 2023.

Liberal Democrats are keen to ensure that people across the borough are actively engaged in the consultation process, to conserve green belt and open spaces as well as ensuring that our built environment is appropriate and fit for purpose in the twenty first century.

Green Infrastructure - preserving and protecting green belt designation without change, with no changes to existing MOLs, as well as designating the WHOLE of Warren Farm as a nature reserve (LNR).

Buildings for the Future – establish net zero carbon as default for quality residential development, install low carbon heating systems in new buildings, clear benchmark of tall building as 6 or more floors high, setting CIL at £300 per tonne of CO2. Ealing has still not implemented the CIL (introduced in April 2010). We estimate that Ealing Council has lost CIL revenue of approx. £35.4m which could have been used on large infrastructure projects.

Connected Communities - encourage use of electric vehicles, cycling and walking with associated infrastructure such as cycle hangers, increased safety for cyclists on roads, improved bus routes and enhanced electric vehicle infrastructure, while not repeating the failed experiment of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs).

Liberal Democrat Councillor Jon Ball, Opposition Spokesperson on Planning and Housing

"While we recognise the importance of providing the additional genuinely affordable housing that Borough residents need, and the harm that unchecked tall buildings are causing to the character of our Borough, we think that the approach taken in this plan of de-designating MOL in order to free up more sites for l development is fundamentally flawed, as our green lungs are vital to the physical and mental health of our residents."

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Liberal Democrat Councillor Gary Malcolm, Leader of the Opposition, is leading a response to the plan and is keen to talk to any groups who have not been engaged in the process.

"Our response is that we believe in the importance of green infrastructure to sustain us over the medium term alongside a framework of buildings for the future and connected communities.

"Liberal Democrats have called for the whole of Warren Farm to be designated as a local Nature Reserve. We are very concerned that the options in the recent Council report mean that around half of Warren Farm will be lost, meaning a significant loss of biodiversity and publicly accessible open space."