Agenda and minutes

To note any apologies for absence and substitutions.

Apologies were received from Councillor Dee Martin.

To consider any urgent matters that the Chair has agreed should be considered at the meeting.

There were none.

To note any declarations of interest made by members.

There were none.

To determine whether items contain information that is exempt from disclosure by virtue of Part1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were none.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 19 October 2022.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting on Wednesday, 19 October 2022 were agreed as true and correct record.

To share site visit details and note site visit attendance.

The following councillors attended a site visit prior to the committee meeting:

Councillors Ball, Brett, Mahmood, Rice, Wall, Hamidi, Kelly, Mohamed, Shaw and Summers.

Emma Bunting, Planning Officer, introduced the report and explained that the application before the Committee was for the demolition of 4 buildings on the Ealing Studios site, and the subsequent construction of 4 buildings to provide studio space for film, television and entertainment production, offices and workshops (Use Class E). The buildings were going to range in height from 4 to 6 storeys tall.

The application site formed part of the wider Ealing Studios site, which itself was in the Ealing Green Conservation Area and Ealing Metropolitan Town Centre. To the immediate west of the site was Walpole Park, and to the east was Ealing Green. Whilst there were no listed buildings within the application site itself, there were 2 Grade II listed buildings within the wider Studio site, and various statutory and locally listed buildings which shared the site’s eastern border. The site had a PTAL rating of 5, which represented “excellent” access to surrounding public transportation networks.

Ms Bunting informed the Committee that the principle of the development was entirely supported by national, regional and local planning policy, since it supported and expanded an existing business site, whilst more effectively utilising brownfield land within the site. The proposed development would be screened from view within the Conservation Area, and from adjoining residential streets and parks (with the exception of a brief glimpse along the access road from Ealing Green). However, Ms Bunting further explained that the proposed architecture was going to be “Art Deco” and was going to coherently reference the vernacular of the surrounding buildings on the site. The scheme had received no objections during statutory consultation, instead receiving 4 representations in support.

Ms Bunting informed the Committee that it was the view of Planning Officers that the proposed scheme represented a high quality development which would support the business offer of a nationally and locally significant creative industry. Ms Bunting therefore recommended that the Committee grant the permission for application, subject to conditions and a Section 106 legal agreement.

A briefing note in respect of the application had been produced by Planning Officers, circulated to the Committee and published on the Council’s website prior to the meeting. It had provided information on amendments which officers had made to their recommendation since the committee report was published.

There were no speakers registered to speak on this item. The Committee proceeded to ask questions and debate the proposal. Gareth John, Planning Officer, was also in attendance and provided responses to some of the questions posed. In response to questions, officers made the following clarifications:

·       Due to the use class designation of the proposed buildings on the site (use class E), any use of office spaces on the site not associated with the film studios in some way was prohibited.

·       The amendment to condition 35 outlined in the briefing note was designed to give production companies more flexibility to rent out the office spaces in the future if they were not needed, so long as the offices continued to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, 14 December 2022.

The date of the next meeting was Wednesday, 14 December 2022.