Locals are fiercely objecting to John Lewis’s build-to-rent plans in Ealing.
John Lewis finally submitted a planning application – eight months later than planned – for its biggest BTR project earlier this month.
The 430-home scheme, in towers rising to 20 storeys on the site of its Ealing Waitrose store in west London, has immediately run into fresh opposition from local residents.
Those fighting the plans said John Lewis had failed to address concerns that its planned towers were far above the maximum of 13 storeys set out by Ealing Council’s planning ambitions for the area.
They also accused John Lewis of underhand tactics by not leafleting local people until 19 August, leaving them only 13 days to submit objections in the consultation process, which ends on 31 August.
Local pressure group Stop The Towers also objected to John Lewis’s plan to completely demolish the Waitrose, which is only 18 years old, thereby breaching the council’s policy on sustainability. Another complaint is that the project misses council targets that 35% of homes should be affordable.
The project is seen as a key test of the diversification plan for John Lewis chairwoman Dame Sharon White. The company wants to see 40% of group profit come from non-retail ventures such as residential property rental by 2030 and plans to develop 10,000 BTR homes in the next 10 years.
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