Ealing Council Approves Affordable Workspace Delivery Plan

Ealing Council is set to boost its affordable workspace offerings with the approval of a new Affordable Workspace Delivery Plan. The plan, approved at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday 15 October 2025, aims to guide developers, workspace providers, and other stakeholders in maximising the delivery of affordable workspace in the borough.

The council anticipates that relying solely on current planning policy would lead to a piecemeal approach, a lack of alignment with local business needs, and potential displacement or insolvency for businesses. The Delivery Plan aims to provide a more consistent implementation of the affordable workspace policy, guide a flexible approach to challenges, provide clarity to workspace developers and providers, and ensure the affordable workspace responds to local business needs. Specifically, the plan aims to ensure affordable workspace responds to sectoral and local business needs to maximize socioeconomic benefits, with a focus on the borough's foundational and high growth sectors.

According to the minutes of the meeting¹, the Cabinet approved the Affordable Workspace Delivery Plan attached as Appendix A to the report.

The minutes state that the reasons for the decision were that the Delivery Plan, while not having statutory weight, sets out the council's intent, direction and guidance to developers, workspace providers, and other relevant stakeholder partners to maximise the delivery of affordable workspace in the borough. It would ensure actions were taken to support the robust implementation of the New Local Plan's affordable workspace policy.

The do nothing option was not recommended because without a Delivery Plan the council would rely solely on the planning policy and its application on a case-by-case basis. Benchmarking against other London authorities, it was clear that the planning policy alone would not be sufficient to increase the supply of affordable workspace. The risks of not having a Delivery Plan include:

• Piecemeal and inconsistent approach to securing and investing offsite S106 affordable workspace contributions.
• Lack of alignment with the needs of the borough's foundational and high growth sectors and unable to respond to market conditions to take flexible approach.
• Greater numbers of micro businesses and SMEs being displaced or going insolvent, impacting on local employment.

Approval of the Delivery Plan would support:

• A more consistent implementation of the affordable workspace policy.
• Help frame and guide a flexible approach where viability and deliverability were evidenced as challenging by a developer.
• Provide clarity to workspace developers and providers.
• Ensure the affordable workspace responds to sectoral and local business needs to maximise socioeconomic benefits.