THE Arcadia public inquiry ended with members of the public giving evidence for and against the retail and housing development in the heart of Ealing.

Excitement rose at the end of last week when the Rule 6 Party made up of Save Ealing Centre, Ealing Civic Society and the Conservation Panel members took the stand.

But a show-stopping performance was given by Professor Sir Peter Hall, one of the country's top town planners.

He said the Arcadia development would 'fatally and permanently compromise the quality of one of the most remarkable suburban environments to be found anywhere in England'.

Sir Peter said: "There can be no doubt that right across these areas the scale of the Glenkerrin development, above all the height of the towers, would impinge almost everywhere as a kind of extreme visual shock, destroying at a stroke the scale and massing of the houses and their relation to the streets, and the Arcadian calm that is the entire area's quintessential quality.

"To put it succinctly, even starkly, this development would destroy the essence of what Ealing is.

"The proposal starts from the wrong premise, proceeds through a perverse logic and to a fundamentally mistaken solution.

"Instead of starting on the basis of the maximum scale acceptable in context and then working out what can be profitably achieved at that scale, it starts with the principle of maximising the profitable use of the available ground area without any reference to context."

But, Patrick Kennedy, a board member of the Ealing and London Chamber of Commerce, told the inquiry that Arcadia would be a 'godsend' to an area struggling both in retail and employment.

He said: "Unemployment and those on jobseeker's allowance stands at 8,733, which is 79 per cent higher than May last year.

"Westfield has sucked the life out of Ealing and we have to act now to get it back. This development is likely to create at least 500 permanent jobs.

"It will be a jewel in the crown for Ealing.

"We should be looking to provide the youth and next generation with something that is tangible.

"Many people are attracted to living in a town centre as they can rely on public transport. This development will bring shoppers back."

After hearing all the evidence, the independent inspectorate, David Richards, was set to tour Ealing based on all the views of the Arcadia submitted by the different parties.

Mr Richards was also set to give a summary of the inquiry as the Ealing Gazette went to press.