Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Costigan, Kaur Dheer, Kohli, Padda, Hashani, Anderson, Dhindsa, Young and Kumar, Stafford, K Crawford and Busuttil.

Councillor Kamaldeep Sahota was in attendance virtually.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Extraordinary meeting held on 19 December 2023.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting held on 19 December 2023 be agreed.

The Mayor updated Council on the activities of the Mayoralty, and gave important civic announcements. The Mayor had

·       Attended the Mayor of London’s New Year’s Day Parade with his consort

·       Hosted Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations at Perceval House

·       Held a Civic Service at Sri Jaralam Mandir in Greenford

·       Attended other faith based services such as the Crayle Service in Acton and the Thai Pongol celebrations

The Mayor reminded members that it was LGBT history month and encouraged members to attend events being run by the West London Queer Project.

Finally, the Mayor led tributes to Harry Greenway, the former MP for Ealing North who had passed away recently.

There were no petitions from members of the public.

There were no petitions from Members of the Council.

Alex Rowley has given notice he wishes to ask the following question of Councillor Costigan, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Action:

Following the closure of Swyncombe, and before any changes to Elthorne Park Rd are agreed, what is the council going to do and by when to measure and reduce the huge increase in speed and volume of traffic on Haslemere Ave that poses significant risk to many children’s lives?

There were no petitions from Members of the Council.

Councillor Manro moved, Councillor Mason seconded the Ealing Local Plan and draft CIL charging schedule.

Councillors Ball, Gallant, Mohamed, Gordon, Mahmood, Zissimos, Bains, Knewstub, Conti, Driscoll, Rice, Brett, Malcolm, Blacker, Kamaljit Nagpal and Shaw responded to the report.

A vote was taken and it was

RESOLVED:

1.     To approve the Local Plan for publication pursuant to Regulation 19 and for submission to the Secretary of State (Regulation 22) for independent examination.

2.     To authorise the Assistant Director Planning, Design and Sustainability to make minor changes to the Local Plan ahead of its publication pursuant to Regulation 19.

3.     To authorise the Assistant Director Planning, Design and Sustainability to propose modifications to the Local Plan prior to and following submission to the Secretary of State and during the examination process.

4.     To authorise the Assistant Director Planning, Design and Sustainability to submit the Local Plan and supporting documents to the Secretary of State.

5.     To authorise the Assistant Director Planning, Design and Sustainability to consult on modifications recommended by the Planning Inspector.

6.     To authorise the Assistant Director Planning, Design and Sustainability to take all steps necessary to comply with the legislative requirements and best practice during the process of preparation and adoption of the Local Plan.

7.     To approve the draft Charging Schedule for public consultation. 8. To authorise the Assistant Director Planning, Design and Sustainability, in consultation with the cabinet member for Good Growth and New Homes, to make changes as appropriate to the draft CIL charging schedule following consultation and submit the draft CIL charging schedule for examination.

8.     To note that the final version of the Local Plan and CIL charging schedule shall need to be adopted by Full Council following the examination.

9.     To note the documents appended to this report, including the Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA).

This council notes that:

·       Southall Post Office provides essential services for members of the local community that may not have access to the internet or speak English as a first language.

·       Physical Post Office closures are likely to increase travel costs for customers, as well as forcing those who may have mobility issues to travel further to a physical branch.

·       43% of small businesses say they ‘would not survive’ without a local Post Office.

·       Sub-postmasters and other post office staff provide support to tens of thousands of vulnerable people across the UK every year.

This council believes that:

·       Ealing residents deserve to have essential community services, such as the post office, in their local areas.

·       Southall Post Office provides a vital service to the small business community in Southall.

This council resolves to:

·       Write to the Post Office, asking Post Office management to explore all avenues to keep Southall Post Office from closing and to support local residents, small businesses, and the Post Office workers of Southall.

·       Invite senior representatives from the Post Office to present themselves to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to justify the decision to close the post office.

·       Lobby the government to do all it can to prevent post office closures and cabinet members will write to the parliamentary under-secretary regarding the proposed closure of Southall Post Office.

It was moved by Councillor Brett, seconded by Councillor Mahfouz and

RESOLVED:

This council notes that:

·       Southall Post Office provides essential services for members of the local community that may not have access to the internet or speak English as a first language.

·       Physical Post Office closures are likely to increase travel costs for customers, as well as forcing those who may have mobility issues to travel further to a physical branch.

·       43% of small businesses say they ‘would not survive’ without a local Post Office.

·       Sub-postmasters and other post office staff provide support to tens of thousands of vulnerable people across the UK every year.

This council believes that:

·       Ealing residents deserve to have essential community services, such as the post office, in their local areas.

·       Southall Post Office provides a vital service to the small business community in Southall.

This council resolves to:

·       Write to the Post Office, asking Post Office management to explore all avenues to keep Southall Post Office from closing and to support local residents, small businesses, and the Post Office workers of Southall.

·       Invite senior representatives from the Post Office to present themselves to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to justify the decision to close the post office.

·       Lobby the government to do all it can to prevent post office closures and cabinet members will write to the parliamentary under-secretary regarding the proposed closure of Southall Post Office.