Forum Topic

Fresh attempt to develop Syon Park Allotments

I don't know how many people are aware, but there is another attempt to develop the Park Road allotments opposite Syon Park Gates by the Duke's Northumberland Estates. The proposal is to build 80 duplexes and flats on about two thirds of the allotments that has been green fields for centuries and allotments for over 100 years. This is at a time when allotment demand is increasing. Out of 33 mature trees, 23 will be felled, along with a multitude of fruit trees and bushes.  Great harm will be caused to the habitats of various wildlife.If you would like to submit a comment on this application, its reference on the council website is P/2020/4292 I have submitted an objection thus: Objection to Park Road Development Application The only good thing that can be said about these buildings is that they are not excessively high compared with other applications in the area. However, the very idea of building on this site, with the loss of 23 trees out of 33 and a multitude of trees and bushes over two thirds of the present site should be considered unacceptable per se. The site is Local Open Space, has been designated an Asset of Community Value, and demand for allotments is hugely increasing due to the population increase in London and its concentration in apartment blocks. Figures obtained by the National Allotment Society (NAS): 40 per cent of councils who responded to the survey saw a "significant uplift" in applications during April 2020, with a 300 per cent increase in one case. The NAS also saw a 45 per cent increase in requests for information about allotments through its own website.  In Brentford there are expected to be many more apartments in 5-10 years than exist now, with an extraordinary community dispute growing over access to private areas of Brentford Dock and Brentford Lock. The continuing existence of green space and allotments should mitigate against this unwelcome trend. It is not acceptable for the applicant to provide smaller plots and say that solves the problem.

Ian Speed ● 1189d7 Comments

Thanks for putting this up Vanessa

Ian Speed ● 1166d

A few helpful tips for anyone who wants to be able to lodge an objection to the planning application, from The Isleworth Society.HOW TO OBJECT TO THE PARK ROAD ALLOTMENT GARDENS PLANNING APPLICATIONWe hope as many people as possible will submit an objection to Hounslow Council as soon as possible.  Anyone aged 16 or over can respond, there is no restriction as to how many people from one household can respond, regardless of whether or not you have received a consultation letter.  Hounslow Council accepts comments over and above the statutory three weeks, that is until the time Planning Committee makes a decision to either accept or reject the application, not likely to be until around the end of March 2021.‘Don’t delay – respond today’You can respond in one of three ways:1. via the Hounslow Council Planning website www.hounslow.gov.uk/planning using the Planning Reference no. P/2020/4292;2. e-mail Planning.AppResponses@hounslow.gov.uk  quoting the Planning Reference no.  P/2020/4292  in the title, and making sure you give your full name and address at the end of the e-mail or 3. by writing to the Development Manager, Housing Planning & Communities, London Borough of Hounslow, Hounslow House, Bath Road, Hounslow, TW3 3EB including the Planning Reference No. P/2020/4292 and providing your full name and address. The first two methods are the best as you will receive confirmation of your response, but not if you send your response by post.  **Ensure that you state in your response that you OBJECT to the planning application**A sample is provided to give guidance in preparing your objection but please select and include the issues that concern you and use your own words in your response.  Only valid grounds for objection will be taken into account.  The effect on the value of properties in the area is not a valid objection.Page 1Please note it is not necessary for you to include all the following valid grounds for objection in your letter but these are provided as background.  You may wish to include your own issues such as overlooking/loss of privacy/shading/loss of daylight if these relate to your personal situation.By using the preferred email Planning.AppResponses@hounslow.gov.ukan auto-reply acknowledgement will be received See also How to Object (Page 1) for alternative methodsRemember to:Quote Planning Reference P/2020/4292 Give your full name and addressState that you object to the planning applicationSAMPLE OBJECTION LETTERPlanning Application P/2020/4292 – Park Road Allotment Gardens, Park Road, Isleworth.I/we wish to object to the above application for the following reasons:- the site is designated Local Open Space and it is proposed building on two thirds leaving one third for use only by current allotment holders and with no certainty of continuing longer term;  - it is located within the Isleworth Riverside Conservation Area, to which harm would be caused and be contrary to Hounslow Council’s Spatial Strategy (part of Hounslow Council’s Local Plan 2015-2030) which states “there is little room for new development and this is reflected in the planning approach which focuses on safeguarding and promoting the established character;- what is proposed conflicts with the land’s status as an Asset of Community Value 2020-2025, that allotment use furthers social well-being and social interests of the local community and is of community value; - the proposal is a departure from Hounslow Council’s Local Plan Site Allocation which does not designate this Local Open Space for building and is also contrary to its Greener Borough Framework 2020-30 to deliver environmental improvements, sustainability and focus on enhancing biodiversity;- it is in conflict with Hounslow Council’s Local Plan 2015-2030 and its Context and Character approach by failing to conserve the significance of this heritage asset as a positive means of supporting the area’s distinctive character and sense of history.I/we trust that by taking the above into consideration the application will be refused. INSERT YOUR NAME, ADDRESS AND CONTACT DETAILSAdditional information which you may wish to include in your objection letter:  The applicant, Northumberland Estates, previously submitted an application in 2016 to build on the whole of the allotment site. This was refused by the Hounslow Planning Committee on 6.7.2017 on the grounds it is Local Open Space and therefore should not be built on. The applicant appealed the decision which was dismissed on the 29.11.2018 with refusal heavily weighted on loss of Local Open Space. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Vanessa Smith ● 1166d

Because it is part of open space.  Plot holders pay rent and primarily food for human consumption is grown on the sites.  Theft has always existed and vandalism.Public Open air swimming pools, tennis courts and bowling greens are also public open space amenities. They also have to have a degree of protection.It is that they are accessible to ordinary local people at the lowest possible cost and to anyone.

Raymond Havelock ● 1166d

I understand the Asset of Community Value bit but don't understand the 'local open space' bit. How can the allotments be classified as 'open space' when they are locked to those who don't, understandably, have keys to the site?

Anne England ● 1166d

Apologies - the link has not worked. https://petitions.hounslow.gov.uk/Please try and look here on the council's website

Ian Speed ● 1167d

Good Afternoon everyone. I have created a petition to Hounslow Council with a view to getting the council to 'urgently conduct a feasibility study into the purchase of the Park Rd Isleworth allotments area by the LB Hounslow', obviously with a view to keeping them as an Asset of Community Value and local open space. This is the link to it if you're interested in signing. https://petitions.hounslow.gov.uk/ParkRdAllotments/?fbclid=IwAR1n7A2U40WHo5cg04p-L467xyCh58XWF5_nEDobW07JK7A-DZzSr3U2tDU

Ian Speed ● 1167d

The Isleworth Society is finalising a leafelt drop and window posters - leaflets should be dropping through letterboxes this coming week. We really need as many people as possible to voice their views on this current application, and the leaflet will have plenty of information and tips to help to do this. Once this site is built on it will be gone forever, and it is worth remembering that at the public inquiry the planning inspector said it should remain as local open space, it's not just a question of allotments but also the biodiversity of the site, which is rich in small mammals and birds and joins up with the churchyard adjacent. And as Ian has pointed out there will be a considerable loss of trees. The current pandemic has shown us beyond doubt that all green areas are to be valued for our physical health and mental well-being.

Vanessa Smith ● 1188d