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More GLA funding needed to meet Ealing scheme’s affordable housing target, John Lewis says
John Lewis said it would need to secure more grant funding from the Greater London Authority (GLA) to meet its target of 35% affordable housing for its first build-to-rent development.
Planning documents for the scheme, to build 428 flats above a Waitrose in West Ealing, were submitted to the council in August. They show the proposed development will provide a minimum of 20% affordable housing, which is lower than council recommendations.
In February, Peter Mason, the leader of Ealing Council, said planners and politicians from the council had given John Lewis a target of at least 35% affordable homes.
He said: “As far as I can see, they also haven’t committed to at least 35% affordable homes on paper. Previous discussions suggested they’d even go lower. That won’t stand.”
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Mr Mason claimed that “at the moment, it feels like a big institution are 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”.
Asked by Inside Housing why the affordable housing provision was only 20% in the planning documents, John Lewis said it was still aiming to deliver 35% affordable homes in the development, but this was subject to the availability of additional grant funding from the GLA.
It was committed to providing a minimum of 20% affordable housing if this additional grant funding was not secured, the retailer said.
A John Lewis Partnership spokesperson said: “Our ambition is to deliver 35% affordable housing to ensure good availability of quality rental homes for local people, including nurses, teachers and other key workers.
“This is an ongoing process and we are working closely with a range of local stakeholders to meet the needs of the local community.”
In June, the department store company cited official data which said the average proportion of affordable housing in new homes developed in England in 2022 was 11.4%.
John Lewis aims to develop and rent out 10,000 homes in the next 10 years.
In March, Chris Harris, director of property at John Lewis, told The Times there was a trade-off between the number of affordable flats John Lewis would be able to offer and the required height of the buildings.
Residents campaigning against the development have complained that, at 19 storeys high, the tallest of the four tower blocks proposed by the retailer was higher than the guidance set out in Ealing’s local plan. This suggested a seven to 13-storey development.
The council will make a determination on John Lewis’s planning application on 6 November.
Inside Housing has approached Ealing Council and the GLA for comment.
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