Hounslow Council


Gunnersbury Park

Gunnersbury is jointly owned and run by Hounslow and Ealing councils and recognised by many as one of the most important parks in the country.

The Gunnersbury Park mansions are set within a beautiful 75 hectare (186 acre) Grade 2* registered landscape of exceptional mature trees, open grass spaces and historic buildings including an Orangery, ‘Princess Amelia’s’ Bath house, Gothic Ruins and the Stables. Gunnersbury Park House (the Large Mansion) is the home of the local history museum for the boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow. Public toilets are located at the museum during museum opening hours and Gunnersbury House (the Small Mansion) during park opening hours.

To the west of the mansions is a round pond and close to this a café, (open all year round), a mid-18th century Temple and Italian garden, a large children’s play area and an 18 hole pitch and putt golf course open in the summer months. The car park, accessed from Popes Lane, is adjacent the walled garden now housing Capel Manor College. Nearby there is a bowling green and a huge open field and pitches for football, cricket and rugby. To the south is the Potomac Lake with its woodland walks, bluebells in the spring and a hidden Gothic style boat house.

The need for a regeneration project

Gunnersbury is a well loved park, of national significance. English Heritage, the government’s adviser on the historic environment, has registered Gunnersbury as Grade 2* putting it in the top 30 per cent of registered parks in the country. There are also 22 listed buildings on the site.

However several studies have shown Gunnersbury to be in major decline. Current funding is insufficient to maintain a managed ‘status quo’ since, like many local authority-owned parks, it has suffered from pressure on council budgets. English Heritage has named Gunnersbury within the top 12 ‘at risk’ properties in England due to the large amount of investment needed to restore and repair the Buildings and landscape.

The Conservation Management Plan

The Conservation Management Plan (CMP) was completed in July 08 and can be downloaded from this page. It was the first step in the process of regeneration and preservation of Gunnersbury’s heritage. It describes the parks features, why they are important and starts to consider how they can be retained, restored and interpreted.

As well as the parks significant historic buildings and landscape its importance as; valuable open space for sports and informal recreation, a site for regional events and a haven for nature conservation is also identified.

A vision was set out to have:

‘a sustainable high quality park with varied uses, which serve the local community and region whilst respecting, enhancing and interpreting its historic framework and fabric’.

The Options Appraisal

The Options Appraisal, completed in April 09, explored what form of intervention is required to prevent the continued decline of the estate. Consultants developed many different options and tested them against; the impact on heritage, financial deliverability and sustainability, and wider legal, social and environmental considerations.The full report is available to download from this page.

A viable option was recommended by the consultants which aims to tackle all the parks problems and maximise the potential for community use. It would:

  • Develop the large mansion house into a functions and meeting venue with a restaurant.

  • Develop the small mansion as a new home for the museum

  • Use the stables as an accessible store to display more of the museum collections

  • Improve the park’s landscape

  • Build new changing rooms and an indoor hall to support a range of sporting activities

Consultation

A questionnaire was distributed to people who live close to the park and was available online. It set the costs and benefits of the recommendation made by the consultants and considered the implications of the other options including not taking any action.

More than 4,000 local residents responded to the questionnaire over the summer with views about the future of Gunnersbury Park. A report with the results of this consultation is available to download from this page.

The Gunnersbury Park joint advisory panel met on 30 November to consider this. Both councils will continue working together to resolve the future of Gunnersbury but no decision has yet been made. The next meeting is planned for early in 2010.

Joint Advisory Panel

This panel, previously known as the Regeneration Board, is an advisory body which has been meeting informally with council officers to consider the best way to protect the park for future generations. The board is currently made up of local councillors from both Hounslow and Ealing councils. Meetings are open to the public with dates shown below.

Stakeholder forum

This forum was initiated to encourage community involvement. It is an opportunity for any interested party or individual to attend a meeting to raise concerns and issues, to be informed on regeneration initiatives and to explore opportunities for volunteering and partnership working at Gunnersbury. Newsletters, notes from previous meetings and meeting dates for this forum are shown below.

Dates for your diary

  • The next Gunnersbury Park Joint Advisory Panel meeting is to be confirmed.

  • The next stakeholder forum meeting is to be confirmed.

Contact us

Richard Gill
Tel: 020 8992 1612
Email: richard.gill@hounslow.gov.uk

For sports pitch hire and grounds maintenance issues contact Laing Integrated Services 0845 456 2796