New Bid To Introduce Parking Charges at Gunnersbury Park

---

Colour of signs to be changed to make them less visually intrusive

Gunnersbury Park car park visualisation from planning documents

The management of Gunnersbury Park have submitted a new planning application to allow them to start charging visitors for parking using ANPR cameras.

A previous application was declined by Hounslow Council planners who decided that the signs and equipment proposed for the parking area were visually intrusive and detracted from the environment of the park by creating unnecessary clutter.

It has been decided not to decrease the size of the signs despite pre-application advice given by the council planning team which said they remain excessive for this sensitive heritage context.

The advice stated that there would need to be clear justifications and technical reasoning for the designs submitted.

The park’s management commissioned a report from a heritage consultant which concluded that the car park itself was not an integral part of the heritage site.

A report was also submitted by the firm which will be managing the car park, Gemini, that said that the signs needed to be as large as proposed to allow motorists to read them while they were in their cars. It also claims that the number of signs proposed are the minimum necessary to meet the relevant guidelines.

Although the size of the signs remains the same, the colour will be changed from the original blue and yellow designs which was considered garish to a green and yellow display similar to that used at National Trust sites.

It is understood that there is no intention to revise the controversial arrangement between the park’s management and parking firm Gemini in which the latter would not receive a management fee but rely on revenue from fines issued to visitors to the park. Some residents felt this could lead to unfairness in the way fines were administered and concerns were expressed that, during busy periods, visitors could be fined while overrunning their allotted time while queueing to leave the park.

The main car park is located to the south of Popes Lane in between Gunnersbury Park Tennis Court and Capel Manor College and consists of approximately 250 parking spaces, including some for blue badge holders. The second car park is located outside the museum and consists of approximately 25 parking bays for blue badge holders only.

The car park has, up to now, always been free for park users but the management says this is putting a strain on availability due its use by commuters. The new sports hub in the park is expected to generate a significant increase in visitors.

No charges have yet been set for the car park but it is indicated that a level of around £2 a hour will be charged when approval has been given. Blue badge holders will be offered free parking when using one of the facilities on park by validating their stay at on a touch screen device.

The applicant reference is P/2021/1588.

 

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.