Towering mistake

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The council is known to be uneasy about the proposal. It would be out of character with the surrounding area, towering above everything for miles around. And even if Ealing council turns it down, the Mayor, Ken Livingstone, may yet approve it under planning powers expected to be granted him shortly that will allow him to overrule local authorities' decisions on developments of "strategic" importance.

That would be an unacceptable overriding of local democracy. But the more important question is what is appropriate in terms of tall buildings for London's suburbs. Mr Livingstone has said that he supports the idea of large numbers of tall buildings being constructed in such areas. That may be acceptable in some places - but pictures of the proposed Ealing project suggest a development completely out of scale with its environment.

This newspaper is in favour of well-designed tall buildings in the right places. But those places need to be carefully considered so that very tall buildings are not simply dropped into otherwise low-rise suburbs as alien intrusions. It would be a tragedy if Mr Livingstone used such projects in his ongoing low-level war with the boroughs. If the council decides that this tower is not appropriate for Ealing, Mr Livingstone should respect that choice.