Liberal Democrats challenge Labour over poor housing delivery

Ealing Liberal Democrats dismayed at the poor handling of housing crisis.

Ealing Labour seem unable to manage development across the borough despite the desperate need for more housing. They have so appallingly mismanaged the local housing market that they will fail to meet their self-imposed target of creating truly 4,000 affordable homes by 2026. This is at a time of huge demand. Where they have managed to build in the past, the result has often been tall towers with inadequate infrastructure and little truly affordable housing. 

Ealing Labour remain in thrall to developers, who have been able to build at will across the borough for the last 15 years without paying £90m of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) contributions which could have been spent on local community infrastructure! That money could have been invested in schools, road improvements, parks and playgrounds for local communities. 

They have failed to deliver progress on a new leisure centre at Gurnell which has recently been demolished, whilst the costs of the new build remain unclear. This is an appalling state of affairs given that the town of Ealing has been without a swimming pool for the last five years, the entire current term of the Labour administration.

Ealing Labour have failed at every opportunity to stimulate and develop the market, deliver new homes and implement innovative solutions for local residents including a failure to establish a Community Land Trust. They continue to hold council tenants in low esteem and provide them with appalling service with a failing emergency and non-emergency repair system for those who have no other choice.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Jon Ball, Opposition Spokesperson on Housing, Development, the Local Plan and Licensing, and Deputy Leader said: “Ealing Labour seem to have no clear plan for managing development be it heritage or affordable housing whilst the borough is in the middle of a huge housing crisis. Sadly, they seem unable to respond in a meaningful way and instead wait for the government to bail them out! Meanwhile, residents suffer with a lack of quality housing and an abysmal repairs service. As next year's local election looms many voters are expressing that change is needed at Ealing Council and they will be voting Liberal Democrat.”