Campaigners have made a video starring Acton residents – including some famous faces – to rally opponents against the Oaks Shopping Centre development, set to be decided upon on Wednesday.

Entitled The Oaks: The Case for the Prosecution, the seven minute video stars actress Anna Chancellor (most recently seen in BBC3 comedy Pramface) and Bruce Forsyth’s daughter Laura, politicians and other critics who explain how the plans by the Acton Regeneration Company are deeply flawed.

Actress Emilia Fox, who has starred in BBC’s Silent Witness since 2004, has since added her voice, describing the development as ‘horrendous’.

Criticisms include the creation of a gated community described as a ‘no-go zone’ between the High Street and Churchfield Road, traffic congestion, the high density of homes and the overshadowing of homes and St Mary’s Burial Ground.

Explaining why he made the video, co-creator Doug Carnegie said: “We feel we’re not being listened to. The more people who hear about this, the more people who are against, and we wanted to inform the community of what they might be staring at for the next 40 years.

“We’re not against development, we just want something smarter.”    

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It comes as residents raised fears about the likelihood of a fair hearing when councillors decide whether to approve the scheme, drawn up by the Acton Regeneration Company, on Wednesday.

Sara Nathan, executive member of the Churchfield Community Association, said it was worrying no Acton Central councillor will be sitting on the 13-strong planning committee, that the council stands to gain from the sell-off of its carpark as part of the site and that council leader Julian Bell appeared to tweet in favour of the development by welcoming Waitrose, the supermarket set to move into the scheme.

She said: “Julian Bell’s tweets seems to be signalling to Labour councillors what’s expected of them.”

Mr Bell responded: “Obviously that’s not the case. I’m the portfolio holder for regeneration and I was pointing out that the regeneration impact of having a Waitrose located in Acton would be significant. There are jobs and investment that would come as a result of that, and my comments were completely separate from whatever the planning committee’s decision might be.”

A spokeswoman for Ealing Council said: “The planning committee members will cast their votes about the proposed Oaks development only after all planning information has been weighed up and will take into consideration all views expressed. Regardless of whether the application is refused or approved, the final decision will lie with the Mayor of London because of the size of the proposed development.”

John Bourne, from the Acton Regeneration Company, said: “The £40million investment in the heart of Acton will include a major upgrade of the existing High Street façade and frontage, a completely refurbished mall with a new atrium, new shops along Churchfield Road and 142 new homes. It will provide jobs for more than 500 people.

“Waitrose has agreed to be the anchor tenant and the regeneration benefits it will bring to Acton will be considerable. This will be good news for shoppers, good news for other retailers and good news for jobs.”