Re: Construction single storey, part two storey building comprising 9 new self-contained apartments (Class C3 Use)  | Garages /  Rear Of 10-24 Byron Court Boston Road Hanwell London W7 2AY

[Statistics published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) put the number of empty homes in England in October 2019 at 648,114. This represents a 2.2% increase on the previous year’s total. These figures are still going up]

I think it is important to understand who we are dealing with in Ealing.

An ‘inspirational’ quote states: “Tell a lie once and all your truths become questionable”. I am certainly questioning Ealing Council’s not so impartial intents in their decision making.

Sir Gerard Cowper-Coles [Group Head of Government Affairs at HSBC Bank and Director of HSBC Bank Egypt] is also Chair of the Trustees of Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery Trust (PMGT) in Walpole Park in the London Borough of Ealing, as is Julian Bell, Leader of Ealing Council. PMGT, a charity, banks with HSBC. In Walpole Park there was a cafe’, Spencer’s Cafe’, run by Alan Dillon and his partner Sarah. Alan had run the cafe’ successfully for 10 years, and had built up the business to become a very popular local amenity. However, Ealing Council decided to put the running of the cafe’ and another restaurant within the park out to tender. Alan submitted his tender, but without being told of the result, discovered that he had been unsuccessful when a second tender process took place. Thousands of people signed a petition to save Spencer’s Cafe’. The winner of the tender was Social Pantry. Social Pantry is bankrolled by Cowper-Coles’s bank HSBC, who have a fixed and floating charge over all assets of Social Pantry. There are also questions surrounding the social/family relationships of Alexandra Head, owner of The Social Pantry, and the Chair of the PMGT and family. (Despite the Trust’s denials, there is plenty of interaction on social media).

On another note – Responses to Freedom of Information requests reveal that in May 2012 Cllr Bell sent an urgent email to officers asking them to make out a cheque for £10k to A&H Events Ltd. The money was said to be for a community Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Party in Southall Park. Oddly, Ealing Council did just that and Bell arranged for A&H Events Ltd to come to Ealing Town Hall the next day to collect the cheque. A&H events Ltd (now dissolved) was run by Harry Randhawa, otherwise known as Harry, a mate of Bell’s boss, Ealing Southall MP Virendra Sharma.

In March 2020, MP Virendra Sharma and Ealing Council leader Julian Bell were named as co-defendants in a court claim by a local restaurant for a dinner that the Ealing Southall CLP (constituency Labour party) new treasurer and new auditors had refused to pay as organized without proper consultation. Legal costs and interest increased the amount claimed from £5600 to £6877. The Labour Party, at the end, paid for all costs.

About LTNs – In September 2020 Julian Bell reassured the residents that all emergency services had been consulted before the road shake-up began. Cllr Bell and transport boss Mik Sabiers apologized on Friday, September 25, admitting that, in fact, the London Ambulance Service had not been involved in talks just like they had not the Metropolitan Police and the London Fire Brigade.

Worth noting that Julian Bell bought a five bedroom property in West London several years ago while staying on as a housing association tenant in another property despite the purchase. Apparently he is keeping the property for a family member. Five bedrooms houses are not so big after all.

In 2017, around £4.2bn of suspicious money is believed to have be laundered through the London property market. In the same year Ealing Council approved the award of a large contract to Rydon, the main contractor of the Grenfell Tower development, weeks before the fire broke out.

A couple of years back there was a petition that received 10,000 signatures to keep the Art Deco Woolworth facade in place on the Uxbridge Road but it was rejected by Ealing Council.

Only the persistence of a group that wanted to save Warren Farm made it possible to keep it for the use of local people. Ealing Council wanted to give it to QPR on a 200 years lease for… free (free they say).

I objected to the above planning application. Why raise a “containers” style residence in the backyard of Byron Court? Byron Court does not need those flats in such close proximity. Those flats will not fit in with the area and they would be an over development. A clear example of over development can be seen at No. 94 Boston Road corner with Osterley Park View Road, where there used to be a small garden in front of a little block of flats at such address, now there is a cube that is a flat or flats. Allowing these unsightly over developments creates dangerous precedents. Why is Ealing Council allowing such monstrosities? There is no parking on site and servicing the flats will be a problem. What would happen in case of fire? Also I don’t see any foundation slabs in the plans and there could very well be an increased risk of flood and subsidence.

What else is there that we don’t know about? Many planning applications approvals by Ealing Council are very questionable, with no apparent benefits for the existing residents nor for the overall amenities of the borough.

I sincerely hope we will be able to instigate change at this coming next local elections.