A HUGE development planned for the centre of Ealing has received a blow from a planning board.

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has issued a report on the proposed Dickens Yard development behind Ealing Town Hall, recommending councillors reject it.

CABE’s report claims a “key failing” of the plans is a lack of links between residential developments at the site and the shopping units which are planned for it, and urges developer St George to put in more residential entrance doors along the new planned streets.

The report says: “The interests of the resident, shopper and commercial tenant do not have to be mutually exclusive and we would encourage a more integrated approach that benefits all parties.”

Another aspect of the designs picked on in the report is the size and design of the buildings, which are described as “more akin to Thameside development than that found in suburban town centre locations” which ”risk overpowering the town hall”.

The report also states the development would encourage people to use a car rather than walk, and would not give enough quality of living to residents because of the amount of housing planned for the area and size of the blocks.

Councillors will have to consider the report as part of the meeting to discuss whether to approve the scheme, which is expected to take place in September.