Ealing Council leader visits the Tudor Rose in Southall
Fri 10 Jul 2020
The Tudor Rose is the only building and business in Southall that is owned and managed by members of the African-Caribbean’s Windrush generation.
Afterwards, he talked to other concerned residents. He began his response by saying that 2500 affordable homes were needed and developers would only deliver about 30% in any new development.
The Tudor Rose was included in the re-development plan with other buildings and the car park at the rear of the Dominion Centre. Councillor Julian Bell got “mixed messages” from his officers (and Peabody) on whether the owners were willing to sell, move or relocate. After personally talking to the owners, he is fully aware, that they NEVER wanted the Tudor Rose to be part of any re-development. “I fully understand what the Tudor Rose means to the community” he said.
A resident asked “If your officers misled you. What guarantees can you give it won't happen again?” Julian Bell replied “Not misled. Perceptions have been different.” I am the leader of the council. We have an agreement with (Peabody). Need lawyers (to get out of this mess).
The primary problem moving forward is a financial one. He wants to minimise the costs to the council and Peabody in making changes to the agreed development plan. The worst case scenario will cost £8 million, whilst the best case scenario will cost £1 million.
A resident stated that the “cost of community (feelings) is greater than 1 or 8 million. Peabody has lack of understanding of local diversity and have not done their homework. It is a major problem if developers do not understand the local needs. And want to shatter the hope of the black community.”
Canon Mark Poulson, Southall Faith Forum, said “It is easy to light up a building like Ealing Town Hall. You have got to do the hard bit” now to show support for the BAME community.
Julian Bell agreed and said that it requires “meaningful support and changes in policy” from Ealing Council.
Earl Smith said that “If there was a (proper) consultation then we would not be in this situation.”
Julian Bell said that he was “committed to meeting” the concerned residents again and that he had got “absolute clarity” of their views and he will “show that clarity to (his) officers” who have been giving him mixed signals.
Councillor Jasbir Anand added that the Tudor Rose is a landmark but the situation is now a legal matter between the Council and Peabody. She agreed that that “maybe the consultation should have been more transparent”.
A proper consultation would not have led to this situation. Mixed or incorrect signal from council officers to the Council leader created this problem. That is not the fault of the residents. That fault lies squarely with the Ealing Council. Ealing Council has a bad habit of doing tick-box consultations/assessments, as proven in the courts and by the Charity Commission.
A “NO LEGACY, NO JUSTICE AND NO PEACE” protest took place just after this meeting, where the owners and residents showed their solidarity and support for the Tudor Rose.
Links to those speeches on Youtube are below:
Harsev Bains - National Vice President of Indian Workers' Association Great Britain (IWA-GB),
Canon Mark Poulson of St John's Church Southall Green and Convenor of Southall Faiths Forum
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