Ealing Matters believes that it is essential for the borough to have an up-to-date Local Plan and has encouraged residents to participate in the consultations that have taken place over the last couple of years to help shape it.
The last public (Reg 19) consultation finished in April last year. Apart from two meetings between members of the Ealing Matters alliance and senior council members and officers to follow up on the Local Plan (29 July and 28 October 2024), the Council was silent on its progress until 18 November, the date it was finally submitted and more than six years after the now Leader of the Council, Peter Mason, first kicked off its preparation.
Preparations for the Examination in Public, in theory the last stage in the process before adoption by the Council, have now started. A letter to this effect was sent out by Ealing Council on 22 January to all those who made a representation at Reg 19. Two planning inspectors, D McCreery and C Dillon, have been nominated to run it. In addition to the Council, the inspectors will hear evidence from anybody who wishes to make a submission on any of the key issues or questions highlighted by the inspectors. The timetable and agenda have yet to be agreed, but the Council has set up a page on its website containing information about the examination including an index of the documents to be considered and the latest news surrounding the examination.
The index includes correspondence between the Council and the inspectors, raising important questions about the substance and content of Ealing’s draft Plan. These include housing supply, infrastructure, climate action, density and tall buildings, Green Belt/MOL, viability and the adequacy of Ealing’s consultation and engagement. (If these seem familiar, it’s because Ealing Matters and many other residents’ groups brought them up as issues in the Reg 19 consultation). The inspectors’ questions also highlight missing information that Ealing has yet to deliver, and the detailed arrangements for the examination won’t be made until they have been resolved.
The inspectors are not inviting further comment from any party other than the Council at this stage. They will set out in due course when residents who made representations may make further submissions. We will keep you posted.
In the meantime, you may wish to look at document S21 Statement of Consultation (November 2024) from the document index. This contains all representations to the Reg 19 Local Plan consultation from residents and other stakeholders, together with responses from council officers. (Please note that some of the representations and replies have been chopped off and you can’t read them in full. We are seeking to rectify this.)