Councillors Claim They Are Being Gagged on Bollo Lane Towers

Ward reps say they are not allowed to speak at planning meeting

Cllrs Gary Malcolm and Andrew Steed close to the site of the development Cllrs Gary Malcolm and Andrew Steed close to the site of the development

Participate

Planning Application Submitted for 25 Storey Chiswick Skyscraper

Backlash Over 25-Storey 'Overdevelopment' On Bollo Lane

Covid-19 Implications for Planning Law and Policy in England

Residents Groups Unconvinced By Ealing's New Planning Policy

Sign up for our weekly Chiswick newsletter

Comment on this story on the

Local councillors representing wards in Chiswick they have been refused permission to speak at a forthcoming Ealing Council planning meeting that will consider a massive development on the borders of Chiswick and Acton.

A proposal by TfL to build ten tower blocks including a 25 storey high skyscraper to be called Bollo Brook House close to the level crossings on Bollo Lane is due to be discussed at the virtual meeting on 20 January.

The Liberal Democrat councillors have been told that they are not allowed to speak at the meeting because the development is not in their ward. It is situated just over the boundary in South Acton ward.

They argue that they should be able to represent the views of their constituents as many live just a few metres from the ward border and they will be the most severely impacted by the development.

The committee has a Labour majority and it is widely expected that it will endorse the proposal.

Liberal Democrat Southfield Councillor Gary Malcolm remarked, “The Labour-led administration has been trying to silence representatives from a hugely affected area from speaking at the Planning Committee meeting. I have received hundreds of petition signatures from angry residents in my ward opposing these tall, monstrous developments. There also are over 600 other people who have objected to the development on the Council’s website.

“Southfield residents shall not be silenced into submission. I will continue to fight for my constituents who will suffer from the negative impact by the monstrous towers. I shall be posting my planned speech on the YouTube meeting comments section, where the live broadcast of the meeting will take place, whether the planning committee wants it or not. As an elected ward representative, I believe it is my duty to submit these petitions live at the meeting and present my constituents’ concerns.”

Visualisation of Bollo Brook House from Bollo Lane
Visualisation of Bollo Brook House from Bollo Lane

Cllr Jo Biddolph, who represents Turnham Green ward on Hounslow Council which also is next to the site of the development says she was also refused permission to speak at the meeting but has been permitted to send comments to the clerk to the committee.

She described the lack of opportunity for representatives to speak as a 'denial of democracy' and added, "Chiswick will soon be surrounded by tall buildings - the 32-storey Chiswick Curve has been rejected but something will come in its place. The Fourth Mile development of high rise blocks has been proposed for the B&Q site. Opposite at 250 Gunnersbury Avenue there are plans for tall blocks of flats. Power Road has been identified as part of the "opportunity area" linked with Brentford's Golden Mile.

"They are all being proposed ad hoc with no thought of their collective impact on the character of Chiswick, a character that people who live here value and respect. And they are being proposed by a council that does not regard itself to have anything to do with Chiswick yet residents of Ealing's Southfield ward are just as much Chiswick residents as those who live in Turnham Green ward which extends to TfL's land around Acton Lane tube station and includes the Gunnersbury Park Garden Estate.

"Greater co-ordination is needed between the two councils, at a political level as well as at officer level, to consider the impact on Chiswick of this scheme, and the others proposed and to come, that are slowly enclosing Chiswick in tall buildings. Chiswick will be stuck in the shadow of these buildings instead of being allowed to stand proud in its own right."

The Planning Meeting takes place at 7pm on Wednesday 20 January. You can view the meeting live on Ealing Council’s YouTube channel.

TfL are planning phased construction over five years with work beginning at each end of the site and working towards the middle. Originally it was hoped that construction could have started this Spring but the project has been delayed due to the coronavirus.

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.


January 17, 2021

Bookmark and Share