A petition of more than 12,000 signatures requesting a referendum for a directly-elected mayor for the borough has been verified and confirmed as valid by Ealing Council.

Christine Eborall, who organised the petition, said: "Ealing Council should have listened to the community much earlier on and it's fantastic that they finally have done."

Now the signatures have been validated a referendum has to be held between two and six months after the validation has been completed.

July 18, 2002 08:30