Forum Topic

Over & Ugly Development - It just gets worse.

If this is true, and comes to fruition, all is lost really. Total, Complete and Utter Madness (IMHO of course):-"From this month, changes to the planning system will unlock a hitherto overlooked housebuilding resource that could change parts of London’s famous skyline forever: airspace development.Developers and, to a point, homeowners will be able to add two storeys on to a private house, a block of flats, a shop or an office block, or really any kind of existing building, to create extra living space without the need for planning permission.Red tape is being cut in order to reduce urban sprawl and pressure on greenfield sites, while allowing cities to grow."Evening Standard (yes, yes, I know) Homes & Propertyhttps://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/extending-homes-planning-permission-flats-houses-a140076.html

Rosco White ● 1809d12 Comments

Post Covid, is the idea that London will continue to grow still current.I've seen a lot of comment that the centre of town is ghostly ad may never recover as those who started working from home now want to do so other than commute - at least for the majority of their time. And yu can do the from elsewhere.And the poor young workers having to WFH in their bedroom in a shared house, want more outdoors, more space and will sacrifice being in London - especially if its no longer a hive of jolly activity.

Sara Nathan ● 1796d

The headmistress of a local school a few years back used the “we’re an inner city school” argument to support her case for closing the school library and banishing sit-down meals for children. The result was that the library was closed and turned into a “chill out” room. Meanwhile, all the cutlery and plates were thrown out to be replaced with bag meals, which the children ate sitting on the floor.In short, once you start applying the “inner city” tag, it frees you up to lower your standards and expectations.The headmistress in question was eventually sacked.And Rosco is spot on. Acton (and Ealing) are suburbs.

David Marshall ● 1802d

And Acton is a massive Suburb, we had our own Council once, and swathes are quiet, residential, tranquil & desirable Suburban housing.The politician's trick of using irrelevancies to advance your point doesn't work.  😁

Rosco White ● 1803d

Not one of your assertions supports Acton being in INNER London, and not being a Suburb.Your comments are only about the number of stations, the presence of large industrial/housing estates and pollution/congestion, none of which have any relevance whatsoever to Acton's geographical location.In the Suburbs.

Rosco White ● 1803d

see https://www.actiononemptyhomes.org/pretty-vacant  and https://www.actiononemptyhomes.org/london-buy-to-leaveEaling Matters are in discussion with them to present at a forthcoming Zoom conference later in the year.

Libby Kemp ● 1803d

The 'widely held idea' that London will continue to grow  is, I presume, based upon facts and stats provided by bodies such as the ONS who research this kind of stuffhttps://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/articles/overviewoftheukpopulation/august2019Happy to learn of any research/evidence that is to the contrary as one should always look at all sides of any given argument in order to formulate an accurate viewpoint

Nick Brient ● 1804d

The population of London is likely to shrink, not grow, in coming decades. And there is already evidence of overcapacity as far as housing is concerned (e.g. hundreds of flats unsold for more than a year in central Ealing). We are at the beginning of the worst recession in living memory, which will have the added effect of reducing inward migration and therefore housing demand.The widely held idea that London will always grow is wrong. Indeed, the population declined continuously from 1939 to 1991, falling by more than 20%.

David Marshall ● 1805d

I would concur that the west of the Ealing borough does still (for the present time) possess some suburban attributes, but would still argue that Acton does wholeheartedly lie very much within the heart of London.i) seven stations plus the coming arrival of the Crossrail/HS2 hubii) the largest industrial estate in Londoniii) the largest housing estate in Ealingiv) Three of London's most polluted highwaysv) regular traffic congestion problemsHardly features of a suburban area

Nick Brient ● 1805d

I don't think we are the "HEART" of London, last time I looked Acton & Ealing are in the Suburbs.No argument with Towers in CENTRAL London where they arguably belong, especially to house Key Workers, not for Overseas Investment Buyers.

Rosco White ● 1805d

I'm bewildered as to the 'surprise' regarding the ever-increasing spread of high-rise buildings and extensions. We live in the HEART of London for goodness sake - one of the more densely populated, faster-growing cities in Europe. Ealing alone has an estimated population increase of 21,000 by 2029 ! (stats in the link at the end for anyone interested)Where do you think all these additional people are to be housed ? It's no use banging on about one political party over another - the increase WILL happen regardless of whoever is in power. There just simply is not enough available land for housing development in London - let alone Acton/Ealing. The regrettable fact of the matter is that the only option IS to build skywards - that's the price you've got to pay for living in a growing metropolis in modern times.https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/intend_to_publish_-_clean.pdf

Nick Brient ● 1806d

It is true that, subject to a lot of conditions including the building being detached, outside a Conservation Area and built post 1948, planning permission will not be needed. However an application will need to be made for 'prior approval' which requires the same level of consultation as a planning appplication and can be refused permission by the Council. The difference is that the Council cannot take into consideration such items as affordable housing, sustainable construction techniques, ecology etc.

Simon Derbyshire ● 1808d

The building must be Detached, apparently.A silver lining, albeit very dull and hardly gleaming.

Rosco White ● 1809d