Protesters chanted “no hotel, no flats, we want our green corridor” ahead of a meeting to decide the fate of land in Acton.
Proposals to turn a site at Gypsy Corner, the junction of Horn Lane and Western Avenue, into a six-storey 102-bedroom hotel, was on the agenda to be discussed at an Ealing Council planning meeting on Wednesday night (March 18).
The item was taken off the agenda the same afternoon and a spokeswoman for the council said it was deferred so more information could be gathered, in particular regarding the Cycle Superhighway.
Members of the West Acton Residents' Association took to the streets to demonstrate against the over-development of their area last Saturday (March 14).
Residents are worried a six-storey hotel will overlook and dominate the gardens of two-storey houses in Park View and Cloister Road, and say they need air to breathe.
Sheela Selvajothy, chairman of WARA, said: “We had a demonstration on Saturday and, at short notice, we had more than 60 people.
“Cars, coaches and HGV lorries hooted loudly for us on both sides of the A40 Western Avenue.
"The councillors and developers were surprised to see so many people in support of the demo we organised.”
Ms Selvajothy said they were shocked the council took the item off the agenda and that the residents' association had previously sent an objection letter regarding the proposed hotel.
A separate proposal to turn land at the junction of Horn Lane and Western Avenue, east Acton, into a two-storey McDonald’s drive-through restaurant was rejected at Wednesday’s planning meeting, following the residents' association’s arguments about road safety and the dangers of having a development that would cut across the Cycle Superhighway.
