John Lewis gets green light to build hundreds of flats after appeal
John Lewis has won permission to build hundreds of new flats in west London after a successful appeal to the government inspector.
The retail giant has been given the green light to build 423 new rental homes on top of its existing Waitrose store in West Ealing after officials approved the project despite opposition from locals.
It comes almost two years after John Lewis Partnership (JLP) submitted a planning application for the development. The retailer launched an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate last summer after West Ealing council failed to make a decision on whether to approve the flats.
Locals had been pushing for the scheme to be rejected, with campaign group Stop The Towers criticising John Lewis for ignoring concerns over the height of the tower blocks.
It branded the 'arrogance of JLPs development team [as] breath-taking'. Stop The Towers also opposed John Lewis at the planning inquiry.
The decision by a government inspector to side with John Lewis over the development comes as Labour races to get more new homes built. The party pledged in its manifesto to deliver 1.5m more houses in the next five years.
In February, Angela Rayner, the Housing Secretary who is overseeing the development drive, said there were 'no excuses to not build those homes that people desperately need'.
She has pledged to speed up the planning process and said Nimbys 'no longer have the upper hand', promising to end their 'chokehold' on housebuilding.
John Lewis said its rental home development would be in line with Labour's plans to get more houses built near commuter train stations to kickstart economic growth. Its scheme will be built 350 metres from the West Ealing Crossrail station.
Katherine Russell, director of build-to-rent at the John Lewis Partnership, said: 'This decision underpins a clear policy commitment to supporting brownfield development close to key transport hubs.
'We will continue to work closely with local people to bring forward the development responsibly and ensure it delivers long-term benefits, both to residents and the wider community as a whole.'
The West Ealing scheme is one of three flagship rental home developments being overseen by John Lewis. The partnership until recently saw housing as a way to diversify from the high street at a time when retail was under intense pressure.
However, the company has since sought to refocus its efforts back on retail after an improvement in performance. Last year, it ditched a target to make 40pc of its profits from areas outside of retail by 2030, saying the economic environment had changed 'so dramatically'.
It is still pushing ahead with its initial rental home projects, however. The company received approval for its first scheme, in Bromley, last July.
That scheme had also faced a backlash from locals and councillors, who had pushed the partnership to add more affordable homes. John Lewis is also planning new rental homes in Reading.
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