Controversy Over Acton Playing Fields Planning Application
As Ealing Council Leader's wife gives her support to private sports club
The current North Acton pavilion. Picture: Google Streetview
|
5 April 2019
Concerns have been raised over the apparent ringing endorsement of controversial plans for North Acton Playing Fields by the wife of Ealing's Council Leader.
Proposals have been submitted for a private
sports club (Samurai) to extend at the local park.
The Japanese sponsored club based at Noel Road
lease the community sports facility in North Acton Playing Fields offering football and tennis.
They now want ''to convert and extend the existing grass football pitch to the north of the tennis courts into a new '3G' floodlit football pitch plus provide a new '3G' floodlit Multi-Use Games Area to the west of the existing tennis courts and associated reinstatement of part of the existing artificial grass playing surface back to grass. A new changing pavilion and kiosk would be built to the west of Park Lodge in the approximate position of the former garage/storage building the cricket pitch would be relocated to accommodate this structure.''
There have been a hundreds of objections from many local residents who don't believe public land should be impinged upon in this way. Sport England has also sent a number of questions to Ealing planning department regarding the application and has submitted a 'holding objection'.
They say: ''
Should the local planning authority be minded to grant planning permission for the proposal, contrary to Sport England's holding objection, then in accordance with The Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2009, the application should be referred to the Secretary of State, via the National Planning Casework Unit.
A meeting is planned by the club on the 10 April at Park Lodge on Noel Road to discuss the concerns.
In the leaflet which has recently been sent out, the club responded to suggestions of inadequate consultation by saying, ''we sincerely regret not involving you sooner and are eager to listen to your views and answer any questions you may have about the development of the facilities at North Acton Playing Fields.''
Within the flyer however locals were shocked to see a supportive quote from Hermia Bell - the wife of Council Leader Julian Bell who is reportedly a ''staunch supporter of Football Samurai Academy in the park.''
Newsletter issued with Hermia Bell pictured
It reads, ''Mr Bell and I have been very appreciative of living in this serene local area over the past 30 years and bringing up our 4 girls here. I like seeing the enthusiasm of the Japanese people and the examples they set for their children in promoting family and supporting the local community. Japanese people have made the facility more enticing and comfortable. They are respectful and have great humility which has been a great asset to the community and has given encouragement to the locals here. It is important for the community to work together to involve local children from the area to participate in Samurai activities. We can go from strength to strength with the Japanese Community.''
Some locals are shocked and say it brings into question the council's whole planning process.
Libby Kemp commented, ''We strongly feel that the leader of the Council should not be associated with either side of the debate. It would not be quite so bad if this was signed by "Hermia Bell" in her personal capacity, but the express mention of her husband and his position is clearly intended to at least suggest that he (or perhaps even the Council) is also supportive, which is wholly inappropriate. How can the independence of the planning process be assured?!?''
A spokesperson from Cllr Bell's office said, '' Mrs Bell gave a general endorsement of the work that Samurai Football does in the local community and was not aware that it would be used on a leaflet about the proposed development in the playing fields. Cllr Bell will not be involved in making decisions on the planning application, and has written to local residents making clear that these decisions will be made by the planning committee through the normal procedures and that this is not a ‘fait accompli’. He is encouraging local residents to make their views known, whatever they are, via Ealing’s planning portal.
The planning application reference is 185913FUL. Documentation can be viewed here.
We have requested comment from Samurai.
Value 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. |