Updates
24 May 2024 - Gurnell planning application submitted
|
A new planning application for Gurnell was submitted last week (Ref: 241706OUTR3) – the deadline for comments is Tuesday 11th June 2024.
Please use the following link to find the application and documents: LINK If you want to take a look, the best place to start is the documents called "DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT." Whilst we support the redevelopment of the leisure centre, we remain extremely concerned about inappropriate development on protected land and the dangerous precedent it will set. We also wanted to point out that in parallel to this application, the council are trying to remove the Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) designation of this site and others – the Mayor of London has raised concerns about these changes. If approved, this site and other green spaces in the borough could be developed without such strict planning constraints and more of our much-needed green spaces could be lost forever. Summary of the plans:
From what we have seen so far, our previous concerns around inappropriate development on protected Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) remain:
We also wanted to point out that In parallel to this application, the council are also trying to remove the MOL designation of this site and others. If approved, this site and other green spaces in the borough could be developed without such strict planning constraints and more of our much needed green spaces could be lost forever. Here are some key images from the planning application: 
|
30 Nov 2023 - Ealing Council hosted a public event at Perceval House to share the latest plans on Gurnell Leisure Centre.
|
Ealing Council invited the public to an event on 30 Nov to share the latest plans on the Gurnell Leisure Centre.
The following presentation and information boards were presented in the meeting. Please open the pdfs below to view them.
|
|||||
15 Feb 2023 - Gurnell demolition plans going for Cabinet decision on 22 Feb
|
To read our latest newsletter update, please use this link.
The Chair of the Gurnell Community Sounding Board has submitted his report to Cabinet despite concerns among all community group members that it does not accurately reflect their views. Multiple community group members have produced their own report of the Sounding Board proceedings and submitted it for inclusion with the Cabinet papers, however our report has not been included. To read our report, please click the link below.
|
|
|||
17 Jan 2023 - GURNELL SOUNDING BOARD Update - Meeting 4
|
Our latest update was delayed because we have been waiting to get a response from our October letter to the Sounding Board however this has not yet materialised.
In this update, we will summarise the 4th Sounding Board meeting and notify you about the new Local Plan for Ealing which is currently in public consultation. The intention of our feedback to the council is to be constructive and help them avoid a similar outcome as the previous application. The previous scheme failed partly due to shortcomings during the early stages, therefore we should take the time to address any issues now before it’s too late. GURNELL SOUNDING BOARD UPDATE – MEETING 4 held on 28 September 2022
Although the Council's intention of this meeting was to respond to the challenges we raised in our letter of August 2023, we did not feel these were sufficiently addressed and new concerns/queries arose. These included:
|
|
|
We sent another letter to the Chair of the Sounding Board in October outlining these concerns and requesting further information.
Please click here to read the full letter. At the time of writing, we have not received an adequate response to our concerns or a date from the next meeting despite the last one being nearly 4 months ago. NEXT STEPS We will be chasing again for a response to our October letter and a date for the next meeting. AROUND EALING – NEW LOCAL PLAN You may or may not be aware that Ealing Council is currently producing its new local plan and this is currently out for consultation. The deadline for feedback is 8th February 2023. What is a local plan and why is it important?
|
26 Sep 2022 - GURNELL SOUNDING BOARD Update - Meetings 1-3
|
It’s been a while since our last update. We have been waiting until we had some meaningful information to share, and for the council to make public the papers from the Gurnell Sounding Board.
Earlier this year, Ealing Council created the “Gurnell Sounding Board” with the following objective: “The Gurnell Sounding Board has been established to provide a way for community and leisure stakeholders to assist in steering the Gurnell project”
To date there have been 3 Sounding Board meetings and one Vision Workshop: Meeting 1 - 10th May 2022
KEY INFO AND CONCERNS ABOUT THE PROPOSALS It was not until the July meeting that the finances and options were presented, the key details are:
|
|
The key sections in the slides from the July meeting are as follows:
Development on Metropolitan Open Land (MOL)
To read our letter that was sent to the Sounding Board, please click here. At the time of writing, we have not received a response to our concerns or confirmation that these will be on the agenda for the next meeting on 28th September. NEXT STEPS We will be raising our concerns verbally at the next meeting. Depending on the outcome there may be a call to action so please watch this space. |
29 Apr 2022 - PRE ELECTION UPDATE - What to consider when voting on May 5th.
|
On Thursday 5th May 2022 you have the opportunity to vote in the local election. If you are unhappy with how your views have been represented or how Ealing Council is being run, this is your opportunity to change that for the next four years.
Click this link for information on how to vote from the Ealing Council website: Council elections 5 May 2022 | Ealing Council Save Gurnell was formed to challenge the proposed inappropriate development on protected Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) at Gurnell. This was refused planning permission in March 2021 and since then we have been fighting to get Gurnell reopened. We are an apolitical campaign group. However, we feel it's important to outline the facts in terms of the candidates for Pitshanger ward (previously known as Cleveland ward) in which Gurnell sits. The sections below outline:
What do the parties manifesto’s promise? Only two of the manifesto’s mention Gurnell and MOL specifically:
It is worth noting that Labour (who have been in power in Ealing since 2010) made similar promises in the 2014 and 2018 election which they failed to deliver and spent £2 million of taxpayer funds on the planning application which they themselves refused in the Ealing Planning Committee (which is majority Labour.) Lib Dems - Although not specifically in their manifesto, in their Pitshanger election materials the Liberal Democrats "demand Gurnell to be renovated and re-open to the public once again". Green Party - Additionally, the Green Party reached out to us this week stating that "we'd like to reaffirm our commitment to re-opening Gurnell and challenging inappropriate development in Ealing." TUSC Party - The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition party reached out to us on May 3rd and pledged that if elected, they ''would support the re-opening of Gurnell Leisure Centre.'' Which parties have historically supported the Save Gurnell campaign?
Were the current ward councillors supportive of the Save Gurnell campaign? Pitshanger ward currently has three Labour Councillors - for the 2022 election new candidates are standing. Throughout our campaign to stop the proposed inappropriate development at Gurnell, the current councillors ignored our emails and videos from residents whose lives were about to be ruined. They did not object to the planning application either in writing, or by making a verbal objection at the planning committee meeting. This is something ward councillors would normally do for a contentious application such as Gurnell which had nearly 2,000 objections. Which candidates actually live in the Pitshanger ward? We are electing councillors to represent us, therefore it’s important that they understand the ward specific issues we face. There are 12 candidates standing for 3 seats in the ward:
Which candidates have actively supported the Save Gurnell campaign in the past?
The State of Ealing: A Survey of Residents' Views 2021 If you were on our mailing list, you will probably remember that we wrote last November inviting you to complete an online survey that Ealing Matters had set up together with Stop the Towers, Save Gurnell and the Draytons Community Association to discover residents’ views about living in Ealing. There was a brilliant response, with just under 1,300 residents (covering all 23 wards in the borough) completing the full questionnaire. What the survey revealed was how unhappy people are with a whole range of different aspects of living in Ealing, including the Council. The document is very comprehensive (thank you to Ealing Matters for doing an amazing job pulling this together!) For a summary of the finding go to section 2 and you can find the Gurnell specific sections here:
CLICK THE LINK TO READ THE DOCUMENT: New ERA report (V2) (ealingmatters.org.uk) |
29 Jan 2022 - Call to Action: Sign our Petition and email MPs and councillors.
|
Having received no updates or communication from the council, we are now calling to action to:
1) Get the Mayor of London involved. We heard about a similar situation in Crystal Palace where Sadiq Khan stepped in to help fund the refurbishment of their sports centre. 2) Email our councillors and MP's demanding action. Please use the following link to read our full update and use the links to email our MP's and councillors as well as sign our petition: Link to Jan 2021 newsletter |
15 Nov 2021 - No updates from Ealing Council
|
It's all been very quiet, with no update from the Leader of the Council, Cllr Peter Mason or the Portfolio holder for "Good Growth" Cllr Shital Manro.
An update on Gurnell was requested at the Full Council meeting in early November, however the response was that they are still considering the issue and that they would be in a position to update in the new year. We feel this simply isn't good enough and will be following up directly with Cllr Mason and Manro. It's been 21 months since Gurnell closed and 8 months since the planning application was rejected - the Council need to start consulting with the community rather than progressing behind closed doors. |
9 Sept 2021 - Save Gurnell meet with Ealing Council Leader Peter Mason in June
|
In June, we met with new council leader Cllr Peter Mason and newly appointed cabinet member for “Good Growth” Cllr Shital Manro.
The key messages from the meeting
This sparked another news story as it came to light that there is another refurbishment option costing £4-5M. Exact details of both options have not been publicised and we have requested further details. Row breaks out over popular Ealing swimming pool in need of £18m repairs |
18 May 2021 - Gurnell Stage 2 Application decision by the Mayor of London
|
The Mayor has now reviewed the Gurnell application (Stage 2) and he will not be intervening in the decision.
Therefore the decision by the Planning Committee stands and the application is refused. The formal decision notice will be issued in due course. CAN THIS BE APPEALED? Yes. The applicant has 6 months to appeal the decision from the date of the decision notice. In this case the applicant is Be:Here Ealing, a joint venture between Ealing Council, EcoWorld International and Broadway Living. So technically the council would be appealing their own decision, this would be unusual but it could happen. |
18 March 2021 - Ealing Planning Committee results and what happens next
|
The planning committee refused the application in a vote of 10 against, 1 for and 2 abstentions.
The key reasons for the refusal were:
What happens next? The standard process is for Ealing to send this to the Mayor of London for his “Stage 2” response. Save Gurnell feel it would be very unlikely for the Mayor to intervene in the decision - the vote against was so strong as were the reasons for refusal. Could they come back with a new proposal or challenge the decision? In theory, yes that could happen. However, given the reasons for refusal i.e. not building massive tower blocks on protected land it would be difficult to “tweak” the scheme. Fundamentally, the committee agreed that building on this site could not be justified so coming back with something a bit smaller wouldn’t get around that. Is the Save Gurnell campaign over? No! Our next step is to try and get the leisure centre reopened when Covid restrictions are eased. The council’s key argument for keeping it closed last time round was that is was going to be demolished soon – this is no longer the case. The original plans for the leisure centre were decided back in 2015. A lot has changed since then, and we want to community to be fully engaged by the council with any new plans to refurbish/replace the leisure centre. |
26 February 2021 - Gurnell scheduled for 17 March Planning Committee.
|
We have just found out that Gurnell will be presented on 17 March at the Ealing Council Planning Committee. We will post more details next week along with the link to watch the live meeting online. Please join our mailing list for the latest updates.
|
13 February 2021 - General update and summary of key points raised by statutory consultees.
|
We still do not have a date when Gurnell will go to the Planning Committee for a decision.
The case officer has not been forthcoming with any details despite our multiple requests. In addition to this, we noticed that statutory consultee comments had not been made public. We asked for these through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, which Ealing did not fulfil. We escalated to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) who decided that Ealing had breached the Regulation. The ICO gave Ealing 35 days to comply before certifying the breach to the High Court. Ealing finally published the documents on the planning portal and has backdated them. This following section summaries some of the statutory consultee responses. There were several more however we are summarising the key points. If you wish to look at the actual responses or get more details, please visit the Gurnell application in the Ealing Planning Portal. The responses are in the document section. Historic England
Given the nature of the responses by the statutory consultees, alongside the unknown financial nature of the project, we feel that it's highly likely that the Gurnell application may be subject to further delays. |
6 December 2020 - Planning Committee delays
|
The council have confirmed that Gurnell will not be going to the December Planning Committee and that “the application is currently anticipated to go to the Planning Committee in the new year”.
Given it is now nearly 5 months since the end of the consultation period we have asked what is causing the delay but have not yet had a response. We’ll keep chasing for a response and will let you know as soon as we have any further news. |
18 September 2020 - Response from the Mayor of London and the cost of the new leisure centre has gone up (again)
|
On 15 September, the Mayor’s office sent their Stage 1 response to Ealing Council.
The report says the plans do not comply with the London Plan but that ‘’possible remedies could address these deficiencies.’’ The key issues are costs, the phasing and means of re-provision of indoor and outdoor facilities, landscaping, biodiversity, pedestrian and cycle enhancements as well as an agreement on the flood risk strategy. They mentioned that the Environment Agency objected to the application given the absence of an acceptable Flood Risk Assessment and supporting flood model. All of these issues are part of the key argument of whether ''Very Special Circumstances'' exist to allow the council to build tower blocks on MOL. Other areas where further information was requested was in relation to energy, urban greening and multiple items relating to transport. The full letter and report can be found here. The new Gurnell Leisure Centre may now cost over £50 Million! According to the Mayor’s Stage 1 report, it states that ‘’the Council’s independent cost assessment concludes that the leisure centre facility would cost £28.89 million with the associated basement costing a further £26 million. As such, the total cost of the leisure centre related elements in the application exceed £50 million.’’ In January, Cllr Bassam Mahfouz who is sponsoring this project, suggested that the leisure centre would cost around £40 million. In 2016, the project started off with a cost of £30 million (and the specification has been decreasing ever since.) |
4 June 2020 - Planning Application update
|
The planning application for Gurnell is live. Now is the time to make our voice heard - if you oppose this overdevelopment then please submit your objection to the Council. See our ''How to Object'' page for more details.
The council have confirmed that objections submitted up until the date of the Planning Committee will be counted and considered. |
29 April 2020 - BMX track has been submitted as a separate application
|
The Council have allowed the BMX track to be submitted as a separate application even though it's part of the Gurnell development proposal and falls within the project boundary. While we don't know the exact reasons he council have done this, there is significant concern because the proposed location is within a Site of Importance to Nature Conservation (SINC) and will effectively destroy the SINC. We will be objecting to this application because of its impact to the environment and the fact that the Gurnell proposal should be considered as a single application so that the benefits vs harms can be reviewed truthfully.
The BMX track application can be found here. |
10 November 2019 - Deal Structure has changed
|
There has been a SIGNIFICANT change to the deal structure between Ealing Council and the developer (Ecoworld).
Ecoworld are no longer responsible for the leisure centre and affordable housing build– the council must now find another company to deliver these. In summary,
|
|
|
When did this happen?
Is there anything else we didn’t know?
|