I too live on the estate and it is certainly true that there has never been any suggestion before of putting up gates and limiting access to the estate. The problem is that several members here seem to have missed the reason why this decision has now been taken.This previous summer, we saw a larger influx of people using the riverside area than ever before due to the pandemic. This caused problems with littering and overcrowding, something that our very hard working security guards (only one of whom is on duty at any one time) struggled to control or contain. If this was an isolated incident then I’m sure residents would have overlooked it and moved on. However, it showed the stark reality of what would happen to this stretch of riverside once all the new homes in Brentford are built. We are not talking about a few flats here. We are talking the huge Ballymore development, the re-development of Morrisons, the re-furbishment of the old police station. We are talking, quite literally, of thousands of new flats being built on our doorstep. Flats, as others have made clear, that will not have any riverside access. So it is pretty obvious where all these new residents will go if they want to stroll along the river, have a picnic, have a barbecue, have several drinks late into the summer night with music playing as the sun sets...Our reaction to this, as residents on the estate, the people who actually pay for the upkeep and maintenance of the land, was to put up gates to protect it. Not because we have become Little Englanders or because gentrification has finally found it’s way into Brentford Dock, but because we want to ensure that the land that we pay for is protected, not over-run, over used or spoiled. It is not a pleasant decision and it is one that has never been taken before because, quite simply, there was no reason too. The situation, unfortunately, has now changed.I wish other members of this forum could see this. Think about the reality of the next few years. Hundreds of people using that riverside area. Hundreds of people walking down other parts of the estate to get there. So litter, noise and disruption not just on the Thames side lawn but similar problems all through the estate as people walk to and from the riverside. Think of all the new costs that will be incurred, not just in maintaining the Thames side area but all our other pathways and similar areas. And who will bear the sole brunt of this new financial burden? Brentford dock residents and no one else.I think it is narrow minded and naive in the extreme to boldly state that the Thames path on Brentford Dock should remain free for all without seriously considering the future implications for the residents here. This is the only reason we want to put up gates. Not to pettily close ourselves off or to block out long standing residents of Brentford; it is to protect the land that we pay for, land that, in a few years time, will come under serious threat. None of us want this but, seriously, what other course could we realistically take?
GPursall ● 1198d