PEOPLE in West Ealing are ready to fight plans for a nine-storey development on Arden Road car park.

The Five Roads Forum says it is also worried consultation on the project is not being carried out in an open way.

“The proposal to develop Arden Road car park has come completely out of the blue and shocked local residents,” said Five Roads Forum chair Hugh Comerford in a letter to planners.

“There has never been even a hint that the council was planning to develop this site and it is not listed in the Ealing Development Plan.

“A nine-storey building is completely out of scale/proportion with homes in this area, which are essentially a mixture of predominantly two-three storey buildings, the Spiritualist Church next door and the listed fire station.”

Mr Comerford says the plans will be strongly opposed and he is concerned about what appears to be a rushed timetable.

“The plans have come to light in the middle of a summer when most people are still gradually coming out of a COVID lockdown,” he said.

“We would therefore request pre-planning consultation should be extended to at least the end of September.”