Ealing Council has called on the Mayor of London to rethink proposed housing targets which it says promises homes that cannot be delivered while putting thousands of local jobs at risk.
The borough has a very strong track record of building homes, having delivered more new homes than any other London borough in 2024/25 and averaging 784 affordable homes a year over the last five years. It currently has more affordable housing under construction than anywhere else in the capital.
In a letter to the mayor responding to the draft London Plan, the council says it supports the ambition to build more homes, particularly genuinely affordable homes to let. However, it says that ambition must be matched by a realistic plan for how those homes will actually be delivered.
Under the draft plan, around 11,000 homes are expected to be built on existing industrial land in the borough. The council estimates that releasing industrial land on the scale proposed could put around 7,000 jobs at risk.
The letter goes on to say that a successful London Plan cannot simply be a housing plan. It must also be an economic plan, recognising that thriving communities depend on homes, jobs, transport, public services, open space, and other infrastructure.
The council argues that increasing a housing target does not, by itself, make homes deliverable. Delivery depends on realistic land capacity, infrastructure, affordable housing investment, and the ability of the market to build the homes planned.
Council leader Peter Mason said: “People in our borough want more genuinely affordable homes, good local jobs, and thriving neighbourhoods where they can build their futures. We want London to be ambitious about housing, but that ambition has to be matched by a plan that can actually deliver.
“Simply increasing housing targets will not build the homes London needs. We need the investment and infrastructure to deliver them, while protecting the jobs and businesses that drive our economy.
“This cannot be a choice between homes or jobs. We want to work with the mayor on a London Plan that delivers both and creates stronger communities for the future.”
Councillor Monica Hamidi, the council’s cabinet member for good growth, said: “Our industrial areas are a vital part of our economy. They provide space for businesses to grow, support thousands of jobs, and are part of supply chains across London. Once we lose this land, it is extremely difficult to replace.
“That’s why we’re asking the mayor to make sure housing targets are based on what can realistically be delivered, while protecting the land we need for jobs and economic growth.
“We want to deliver the right growth for our borough, for both existing and new residents. It needs to come with good, well-paid jobs, more genuinely affordable homes, and the investment and infrastructure that growing communities need.”
