John Lewis has been accused of “bullying” over plans for its first build-to-rent project in Ealing, west London.
John Lewis plans to build 430 flats in towers up to 19 storeys high above a Waitrose supermarket, as one of the key planks of its diversification plan. Chair Dame Sharon White set an ambitious target to make 40% of group profit from non-retail sectors by 2030.
But the retailer is running into resistance over the scheme, with the leader of the local council concerned that John Lewis has not committed to a 35% affordable housing target, and the proposed towers are several storeys higher than the 7-13 storey guidance.
Ealing council leader Peter Mason tweeted last week: “At the moment it feels like a big institution is trying to twist arms and bully through a scheme that could be far better through a precarious planning process using the ever-present threat of an appeal.”
John Lewis aims to build, furnish, rent out and maintain 10,000 homes within a decade. It originally aimed to put in the planning application for the Ealing project by December 2022 after a public consultation was launched last July. But it has yet to be filed.
