Public Access Restored at Brentford Dock
Campaigners for non-resident use unhappy with new restrictions
New signs have appears at the gates given access to the waterside. Picture: Brentford TV
February 6, 2026
Public access to part of the riverside at Brentford Dock was reinstated on Sunday (1 February) after Hounslow Council informed Brentford Dock Limited (BDL) that a long-forgotten legal agreement from 1991 requires the estate to allow public use of designated pathways. The move marks a major development in a dispute that has lasted over four years.
In a message to residents on Friday (30 January), BDL confirmed that council lawyers had located the 1991 agreement — signed when the former Estmanco company purchased the estate — in archives in Oxford. Neither the current council leadership nor the Dock’s board had been aware of the document until late last year. BDL’s legal team has since accepted that the agreement is authentic and binding.
Under its terms, the public must be allowed access to the “blue-hatched” riverside area at “all reasonable times”. To comply, BDL opened a gate on Augustus Close on Sunday morning, providing a route for non-residents to enter the estate and reach the riverside path.
The reopening follows years of tension between residents, campaigners and the Dock’s management. In 2020, BDL installed gates and security patrols to restrict public access, arguing that the land was private and that anti-social behaviour and littering had increased. Opponents — including local walkers, heritage groups and residents of neighbouring streets — argued that the riverside had been used freely for decades and that the Dock’s actions were heavy-handed and legally questionable.
Campaigners, including Stephen Clark of Brentford Walks, submitted a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO) application to Hounslow Council seeking to have the estate’s pathways formally recognised as public rights of way. That application remains under consideration.
The discovery of the 1991 agreement has now shifted the legal landscape. While it might not automatically establish full public rights of way, it does oblige BDL to permit access to specific areas.
Although the gate was opened as promised, campaigners say BDL has imposed new rules that contradict the agreement. Signs displayed on Sunday stated that access is limited to 9am–4pm and that dogs are not permitted.
Opponents argue that these conditions breach the 1991 wording, which states that the public must have access “at all reasonable times”. With daylight extending well into the evening in summer, they say a 4pm cut-off is neither reasonable nor enforceable. Residents also questioned whether the rules apply equally to Dock residents and visitors, or only to the wider public.
One local reported being unable to access the area at 8pm the previous evening, suggesting the restrictions may apply to residents as well.
In its message to residents, BDL said it had acted swiftly to meet its legal obligations but warned that the matter is far from resolved. The company said further negotiations with the council are ongoing regarding safety, risk management and the practicalities of allowing public access through a private residential estate.
BDL said it would increase security patrols to protect residents’ “quiet and peaceful environment” and is considering additional measures such as CCTV. The board acknowledged that the news may be “unwelcome” to some residents but stressed that non-compliance with the 1991 agreement was not an option.
Stephen Clark of Brentford Walks welcomed the partial reopening but said the access route remains “woefully inadequate and convoluted”, with no provision for disabled users who can only gain access via steep steps. He urged the council to progress the DMMO application and formally recognise the estate’s pathways as public rights of way.
“The Dock has finally accepted that it signed an agreement 34 years ago,” he said. “But this is not sorted out yet.”
BDL has said it will hold meetings with residents in February to discuss the implications of the agreement and the ongoing negotiations with the council. Hounslow Council has not yet commented publicly on the new restrictions or the next stage of the legal process.
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