Decision looms on South Acton estate plans

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Residents act to try to save local green space from development

Residents of the South Acton estate are to make a plea for redevelopment plans to be rethought. They plan to address the Council planning meeting on 19th October.

Their main concerns are the redevelopment of the green space in the centre of the estate and the massive increase in population density the scheme will bring. The land adjacent to the railway line was redesignated as railway sidings to allow more housing to be developed on it. SARAG (South Acton Residents Action Group) say that this will fundamentally change the nature of the open space as it will now have roads on three sides. The plans will boost the population of the estate by at least 50%

Lucia Otto of SARAG will be speaking at the meeting against this proposal.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Gary Malcolm who is an Acton resident has said that the current plans to redevelop the South Acton estate need re-working. As well as the loss of space at the South Acton Recreational Grounds he expressed concern about the loss of allotments and loss of privacy for residents of Acton Green (including Bridgman Road, Kingswood Road and Kingswood Terrace) because of the tall buildings on the border of South Acton and Acton Green. He also says he will ask for the replacement of lost mature trees to be made a condition of planning approval but welcomed that the proposed development is not likely to be car-dominated.

He said: “The Lib Dems want to see a better quality of housing on the estate because of the decades of neglect. However it is wrong to push ahead when much land between housing blocks will be lost as new buildings are proposed to be built closer together.”

Planning Committee Meeting takes place on Wednesday 19th October at 7pm at Ealing Town Hall. Members of the public can sit in the Public Gallery or SARAG have invited people to meet them outside between 6-7pm.

October 19, 2005