Forum Topic

Horn Lane - why the council's tin ear

... means it is falling on the wrong side of local opinion ... again.http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/capitals-air-pollution-contributes-to-all-four-of-the-main-causes-of-deaths-in-londoners-9048366.html

Richard Grange ● 4632d6 Comments

You are aware air pollution in London is a whole lot bigger issue than just Horn Lane, I presume?  What steps would you take to curb car use, for instance, particularly diesel cars that are the ones actually causing the damage?  What steps would you like to see council candidates in 2014's elections advocating in Ealing to encourage non-car based transport and discourage car use?

Thomas Barry ● 4632d

Money, it ALWAYS comes down to ................. money."The Authorities" are scared s***less to enforce because the perpetrators have better legal funding and "will fight back" (direct quote, I kid you not, from a Senior Environment Agency Manager)And the Horn Lane Pollution is NOT caused by traffic.So, "The Authorities", who have a duty of care to ensure that as reasonable as possible we all have the right to breathe clean air - do nothing.

Rosco White ● 4632d

Rosco - I think you are right.A lot of what is going on at Ealing Council is because of their fear of litigation from big well-funded businesses.I once sat in an Ealing Council planning meeting where a new and very inexperienced (and honest) councillor stood up and said he didn't want to oppose a planning application for exactly this reason.There was a lot of coughing - and then he was roundly told to shut up. It was like a scene out of an Ealing comedy.But here's the thing.Not standing up to big developers  is clearly compromising councillors chances of re-election. If you keep waiving through controversial applications (for fear of litigation) you will eventually pay an electoral price.

Richard Grange ● 4632d

And if you don't stand up to them, they take the urine even more.And matters continually get worse.Witness the Hanson Cement Plant arrogance.

Rosco White ● 4632d

...and most of it illegal.

Nikki Howard ● 4632d

"And the Horn Lane Pollution is NOT caused by traffic."London's air pollution problem, however, is - there isn't a Horn Lane industrial area next to every site that went red in mid-December's episode.  You could close down Horn Lane tomorrow and the sites up the road on the A40 would still go red in the wrong conditions.  Do a quick comparison of Hangar Lane and Horn Lane, last 30 days, for instance.As a thought experiment, ask yourselves why the Authorities would be scared to enforce against the perpetrators of road traffic pollution?

Thomas Barry ● 4631d