UP FRONT
Open to change
The council ’ s new cabinet has set out a number of changes in direction and new priorities and has pledged to create a more open and transparent way of doing things – with residents at the heart of decision-making . Here are some of the first actions they have taken .
LTNS Ealing Council ’ s new leadership team has reassured local people in all low traffic neighbourhood ( LTN ) areas that they will have the final say on the trial schemes . This will be achieved by a consultation on each LTN in the borough , keeping schemes that work and are supported , and removing those that do not . The council has already announced the end of the trial West Ealing South scheme ( LTN 21 ), following the decision by Hounslow Council to close Swyncombe Avenue for two months . The council will be looking to consult on smaller sections of LTN 21 that local people have said are successful . Residents will be consulted before implementation , and nothing will be installed until after they have had the final say .
TACKLING INEQUALITY The new administration has committed to implementing the recommendations of the Ealing Race Equality Commission in full ; and has given its chairman Lord Simon Woolley backing to continue taking a tough and independent approach .
To back this up , Councillor Aysha Raza was appointed as the council ’ s first ever cabinet member for tackling inequality . She said : “ We are putting tackling inequality at the very heart of everything we do as a council . I will be focusing on reducing the inequalities that hold back far too many of our communities
Lord Simon Woolley and fighting the hate and discrimination that has no place in our borough .”
DEVELOPMENT The council will be taking a new approach to development that will put community-led development in the driving seat of regeneration – and make the process as transparent as possible .
This approach will ask more of developers , focusing on bringing back good jobs and employment for local people , re-greening neighbourhoods and maintaining genuinely affordable homes as the priority for any developer looking to build in the borough .
Among the planned measures will be an immediate review of council policy on tall buildings ; new town development plans created with communities ; a publicly accessible register of any meetings between developers and councillors ; and the mayor of London , Sadiq Khan , has been asked to help produce a new vision for the development of Southall , revoking the Opportunity Area Framework .
SOUTHALL GASWORKS Council leader Peter Mason has written to members of residents ’ group CASH setting out the urgent steps he has instructed officers to take to address issues of air quality around the old Southall gasworks .
The wide-ranging measures that council officers are now going to be carrying out include : Commissioning legal advice on the feasibility of a statutory abatement notice ; giving CASH the opportunity to be involved in deciding the contract for monitoring air quality ; drawing up a plan to include CASH and the wider community in developing an air quality strategy for Southall ; and starting work on setting up independent complaint monitoring .
MORE INFO
Read additional information about all of these measures , and more , at ealingnewsextra . co . uk / features / policy
6 around ealing Summer 2020