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 cultural focus is the two mansions, Gunnersbury Park House (the Large Mansion) which houses the museum and Gunnersbury House (the Small Mansion). Public toilets are located at the small mansion and in the museum during opening hours. The mansions are set within a beautiful 72 hectare (180 acre) 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.
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 former walled Kitchen Garden now housing Capel Manor College Nearby there is a bowling Green and a huge open field with 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
Although Gunnersbury Park is a well loved park of national significance and the potential to become a valuable heritage and visitor asset it is 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 and funds have been diverted away from park management and maintenance.
English Heritage, the government’s adviser on the historic environment, has registered Gunnersbury as Grade 2* meaning it is in the top 30 per cent of registered parks in the country. There are also 21 registered buildings and structures on the site some of them within the top 10 per cent of the register. English Heritage has also named Gunnersbury within the top 12 ‘at risk’ properties in England due to the large amount of investment needed to stabilise and ultimately repair these important buildings.
The parks significant historic buildings however are by no means its only heritage asset. It is valuable open space, designated as Metropolitan Open Land; a haven for nature conservation, an irreplaceable area for regional events, sports and informal recreation.
Gunnersbury has now been specifically targeted for improvement with a project to reverse the decline and identify the resources required to restore and manage it for the enjoyment of future generations. The vision is 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 Conservation Management Plan
The Conservation Management Plan (CMP), commissioned last year, is the first step in the process of regeneration and preservation of Gunnersbury’s heritage. The CMP describes the parks features, why they are important and starts to consider how they can be retained, restored and interpreted. It aims to be a springboard for future planning, management and actions. A summary and a fuller version of the CMP can be downloaded from this page.
The Options Appraisal
The CMP makes it clear that some form of intervention is required to prevent the continued decline of the estate. The Options Appraisal will indicate what forms that intervention might take. Consultants have recently been appointed to confirm objectives, develop a series of options and test them against; the impact on heritage, the financial deliverability and sustainability, and wider legal, social and environmental considerations.
An interim report was presented to the board on 26th February (available to download from this page). Scenarios suggested ranged from doing nothing to maximizing the community, commercial and visitor benefits of the estate through finding different uses for the major buildings. A suggestion is put forward as a preferred option by choosing a use for each building and estimating the costs. The total cost of this choice, methods of funding and likely funding gap are explored.
Public Consultation
Consultation will be an essential part of the project Gunnersbury. We hope to develop a questionnaire shortly so that we can understand what it is that makes Gunnersbury special to you and use this to develop a preferred option.
Masterplan
As the preferred option is developed into a masterplan it will be used to develop funding initiatives including grant applications to organisations such as the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Regeneration Board
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 and Notes from previous meetings are available to download from this page. Meeting dates for this forum are shown below.
Dates for your diary
The next stakeholder forum meetings are Thursday 30 July 7pm and Saturday 24 October 2009 11am with further meetings in the winter and spring
The next regeneration board meeting is 28 May 7pm with future meetings 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
