Funding for Ealing Council

OPDC retained the 1 Portal Way application for its own determination. The
planning application is for in excess of 1,000 units and 50,000 sq.m. of commercial
and as such it was felt that, given its strategic nature, OPDC should retain the
application for its own determination. This meant that the application fee of
£140,000 was retained by OPDC. Ealing Council Planning Officers have continued
to be involved in the assessment of the application and in providing comments to
OPDC to inform its determination of the application.

OPDC agreed to fund Ealing Council up to £50,000 for officer time to work on the 1
Portal Way planning application and the Old Oak West Strategic Outline Business
Case during 2021/22, which this Decision is ratifying to facilitate the payment.

The funding from OPDC will be paid in recognition of the time that Ealing Council
officers have and will spend on assessing the application and providing OPDC with
comments.

The outcome is Ealing Council’s input on the 1 Portal Way Planning application
and the Strategic Outline Business Case, which have been important in informing
OPDC’s determination of the application.

OPDC has a statutory duty to determine planning applications in a timely fashion.
The Strategic Outline Business Case will enable OPDC to deliver its regeneration
objectives.

The work will be overseen by the Director of Planning and the Director of Delivery.

Risks and issues

Ealing’s input ensures the future success of the delivery of regeneration in the
OPDC area.

Under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, OPDC must
have ‘due regard’ to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and
victimisation as well as the need to advance equality of opportunity and foster good
relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do
not. This decision has been reviewed against this duty and there are no
implications arising from the decision.

There are no other considerations in respect of this decision.

No one involved in the preparation or clearance of this Form, or its substantive
proposal, has any conflict of interest.

There are no financial implications in this financial year as the expenditure of
£50,000 associated with this decision was recognised as an accrued liability in
OPDC’s 2021/22 financial statements.

As Ealing Council Planning Officers were undertaking their statutory function in
respect of the application rather than as advisors to OPDC, this work is considered
by OPDC not to constitute a taxable supply by Ealing Council to OPDC, but rather
as a voluntary contribution by OPDC to Ealing Council in recognition of the volume
of work required of Ealing in respect of OPDC retaining the application.
Accordingly, it is proposed this be treated as grant expenditure, for which the
obligation was agreed by end 2021/22 in respect of work undertaken in that year.