Ealing Council Publishes Four Year Plan
Says it has three strategic themes, each with three targeted missions
Left: Peter Mason with party colleagues campaigning in the local election. Right: Gary Malcolm speaking in the council chamber
June 30, 2026
Ealing Council has revealed its strategic “values in action” plan for the next four years. Within these three guiding principles, the council has organised its work into three strategic themes, each with three targeted missions.
Ealing Labour won a historic fifth consecutive term governing the authority at the local elections – albeit with a diminished majority – and their plan will be led by three guiding principles. These are ‘communities for everyone’, ‘growth across all 7 towns’ and ‘power in your hands’.
This plan aims to improve children’s services, secure affordable housing, and a crackdown on antisocial behaviour. The council will also aim to bring down the cost of living and adopt the 20-minute neighbourhood guidance across all seven of Ealing’s towns.
Cllr Gary Malcolm, Leader of the Opposition, claims that a lot of the plan does not contain any new ideas. He said: “I would say that I am very disappointed by this annual plan. It could have been so much better.”
Mission 1 will be the council’s effort to tackle barriers facing young people in the borough and to “ensure every child has the best start in life”.
Some key deliverable policies within the current financial year include establishing one fully operational, accessible and multi-agency family hub with integrated services. Alongside this the council has committed to create career events for Year 10 pupils.
It’s worth noting that Ealing recently announced the closure of 10 children’s centres with the highly contentious decision being taken to the High Court, a legal battle the council won. The council argues the closures will allow it to invest in early years help elsewhere in the borough but critics say it contradicts efforts to improve early years support.
Mission 2 will “enable every person to live a healthy and happy life and end the unfair inequalities that hold too many people back”. The council aims to achieve this by building integrated neighbourhood health teams with NHS partners in every town whilst opening a 15-bed residential ‘reablement’ facility at Sycamore Lodge.
Mission 3 is a target of securing “a safe and genuinely affordable home for every family and work to end homelessness and rough sleeping”. Ealing Council currently has more than 7,500 households on the housing waiting list and 25.29 per 1,000 households in temporary accommodation.
This mission will involve “regenerating neighbourhoods and increasing the supply of genuinely affordable homes”. Despite having a target outlining 35 per cent of all new builds being affordable, this is routinely missed by developers citing cost.
Over 100 affordable homes partway through construction could be demolished by Ealing Council in West Ealing, Greenford and Southall because it’s deemed potentially more cost effective than finishing them. It comes after developer Henry Construction went into liquidation.
The second theme is “our towns and communities are places where people feel safe and a sense of belonging”. This includes Mission 4 which aims to crack down on crime and antisocial behaviour and “tackle its root causes”.
Deliverables within the first year of this term include a manifesto commitment to deploy 10 new CCTV cameras and increase the deployment of uniformed street enforcement officers.
Mission 5 will enable the council to “take decisive action to tackle the climate emergency” and keep roads clear.
The local authority plans to set out a borough-wide rewilding plan alongside launching the borough’s first “bulk solar scheme to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions”. A bulk solar scheme enables communities to bulk purchase solar panels via council run auctions to make them more affordable.
Mission 6 aims to “strengthen pride” in every neighbourhood whilst “providing identity and purpose in every community”. The council plans to undertake 10 playground improvement projects and begin rolling out the West London Regional Park walking and cycling trail.
The final three missions are underpinned by a theme of creating an economy that “enables all towns and communities to thrive”. The council says that Mission 7 will make the economy inclusive and bring down the cost of living whilst getting the best value for taxpayer money.
Planned actions include opening a community hub in Greenford Library which will provide accessible face-to-face advice and support, in addition to an AI-assisted webchat in high volume services.
Mission 8 sets out to “bring good well-paid jobs back to the borough and breathe new life” into high streets. This includes plans to open the West Tech Skills Hub in North Acton within a new living wage zone.
The ninth and final mission hopes to deliver sustainable growth for every town “with investment in any communities that have been left behind”. Key first steps will include adopting a new local plan and ensuring planning decisions “align with 20-minute neighbourhood guidance” across all seven towns. This is the principle that all key services should be accessible within 20 minutes of where you live using active travel like walking and cycling.
The council will meet in full on Tuesday, June 30, to discuss the plan.
Philip James Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter
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