In a remarkable about-turn, Ealing Conservatives have published a press release announcing that they pledge no development on Gunnersbury Park. It is provided below this article.

In his response, Peter Thompson, leader of Hounslow’s Conservatives, reveals that this has come as an unexpected change from their previously-agreed position, and that he has no idea what Ealing is now proposing instead. Also below.

The first and most significant fact about this is that there is no future for Gunnersbury when its two owners collaborate so poorly that they have to talk to each other through hastily-written press releases.

The second is that it is hard to explain. Phil Taylor was one of the prime movers behind the Options Appraisal and the Public Consultation. He was closely involved in writing and re-writing the questions and in pushing for it to be circulated to around 75,000 households. To now claim that Ealing’s policy all along was against development makes it hard to understand why he was so keen for the development option to be included. It is hard to avoid the accusation of bad faith.

The third is that the timing is after the main results of the questionnaire have been communicated to both Councils, but before they have been released to the public. The Council knew soon after it closed what the crude totals were for all the numerical questions – what is taking the time is the processing of the comments, because there may have been 4000 or so. Any sensible politician would have waited for the process to be worked through.

So why this rapid and hasty intervention? Well, there are two obvious possible reasons. One is that the public have voted heavily against development and Taylor and his colleagues wish to place themselves at the head of that movement. The other is that the public have voted in favour of development, and Taylor and his colleagues are trying to head that movement off. In both cases the May council elections seem to be a dominant influence.

Away from the pirouetting of local councillors, another dimension of this is the disastrous impact it will have on the views of English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund. They have always had grave doubts about Ealing and Hounslow’s capacity to sort out the Gunnersbury problem together. It it clear they are right.

I responded with this press release yesterday evening:

One of the most positive changes that has happened at Gunnersbury in recent years has been the active engagement of Ealing Council and the cooperation between both them and Hounslow. Councillor Taylor and his Ealing colleagues wanted the Options Appraisal, and he was very active in the design of the public consultation and the specific wording of the questionnaire, and he wanted it to go to 70,000 people. He and his colleagues now face a charge of acting in bad faith. I fear this new stance will have completely wrecked any possibility of support from English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Options Appraisal gave Gunnersbury a glimpse of a way out of its troubles. It is now in greater danger than ever before.

 

 

Ealing Press Release:

CONSERVATIVES PLEDGE NO DEVELOPMENT ON GUNNERSBURY PARK

Ealing Conservatives this week welcomed the proposals for Gunnersbury Park that are outlined in the recent options appraisal and consultation.  The same document proposed using the sale of land along Lionel Road as a means to fund these proposals.  Such a sale is against previously stated Council policy, and Ealing Conservatives are happy to restate that any such residential development in Gunnersbury Park or any other Ealing park is not acceptable to this administration.

Councillor Phil Taylor, Portfolio holder for Customer and Community Services, said:

“Our Council has consistently said that it would not support residential development in Gunnersbury Park, or any other park in the Borough.

 “Although it has caused some upset it was essential that the question was raised in the recent consultation questionnaire.  The kind of enabling development outlined would be acceptable to funding bodies such as English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund.  We can now negotiate with these bodies with the clear understanding that such enabling development is unacceptable to the public as well as this council.

“This administration has worked hard to fix Gunnersbury Park since it was elected.  Very soon after we came into power we set up the Gunnersbury regeneration board jointly with Hounslow which has moved at a good pace to produce a conservation management plan and an options appraisal for the park.  The recent consultation will allow us to gauge the public's response to proposals for the park.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1.       Statement of Phil Taylor in council press release 1471 issued 11th April 2009:

"The concept of enabling development is extremely unattractive to our borough to the point of being unacceptable."

  http://www.ealing.gov.uk/press_releases/2009/april/pr1417.html

 2.       The following statement was issued to the Ealing & Acton Gazette on 8th September:

"As we have previously made clear there are no plans to develop the Gunnersbury Park and it is not the Council's policy to allow development there."

3.       In the same month the following statement was issued to the Ealing & Acton Gazette on behalf of Phil Taylor: 

"It is not the Council's policy to allow development on Gunnersbury Park. The regeneration board is entitled to look at and discuss various options about how to regenerate the park but it will be the Council, in conjunction with our counterparts in Hounslow, who will make the final decisions on these issues."

 Hounslow Press Release:

 Statement by Leader of Hounslow Council, Peter Thompson

 "We understand that Ealing Council this week (Monday 20 October) agreed a motion that affects its strategy for parks and green space; this in turn could change Ealing’s policy and strategy on options previously agreed with Hounslow to find a way of guaranteeing a future for Gunnersbury Park.

 "The results of the joint Ealing & Hounslow programme of public consultation are now likely to be of even greater value in finding the option that will keep Gunnersbury open to the public for generations to come.

 "We are looking forward to hearing full details of the Ealing’s new policy at the next meeting of the Gunnersbury Park Joint Advisory Panel. We will at the same time look in detail at what options are favoured by the local residents who use and appreciate what Gunnersbury Park has to offer."

 Ends

  

James Wisdom

23^rd October 2009