Plans Mooted To Regenerate Gunnersbury Park
Installing a temporary ice rink, creating a BMX track and hiring out buildings as wedding venues are just some of the ideas mooted to transform Gunnersbury Park’s fortunes.
Details emerged after the minutes of the regeneration board set up by Hounslow and Ealing councils to look at the management of the park were finally released to the public.
“We have to look at every idea to see how we can manage the park, however that’s not the way I hope the park develops. We don’t want to turn it into a big municipal park."
Councillor Adrian LeeIt followed a campaign by residents and Gunnersbury Park Covenant Group for the shroud of secrecy surrounding the board to be lifted by opening meetings to the public and making documents available.
The minutes of the September meeting have revealed that interest was put forward for a temporary ice rink to be installed in the park grounds over the festive season, mirroring other successful rinks at Somerset House in London, Kew Gardens and Hampton Court Palace.
Other ideas raised included having boats for hire on the Round Pond and for a BMX track to be built in the south-west corner of the park, although the board has said this is not an idea it will be pursuing.
Hounslow’s lead member for leisure, Councillor Adrian Lee, said: “We have to look at every idea to see how we can manage the park, however that’s not the way I hope the park develops. We don’t want to turn it into a big municipal park. We want to keep some integrity, it is an area of beauty and we want to keep in with the Georgian estate. A BMX track wasn’t there – it wouldn’t really work in the park.”
Coun Lee said one idea discussed by the board was to restore the western side of the park, including the original Japanese garden and Horseshoe lake, to its former glory, while the eastern side would be turned into a sports hub, with football, rugby and tennis facilities.
The Gunnersbury Park Regeneration Board replaced the Gunnersbury Park joint committee in March. The new board was criticised for meeting behind closed doors and in September it agreed to allow the public to attend.
Brentford resident and member of Gunnersbury Park Covenant Group, Bela Cunha, attended the first open meeting on October 16 but said while she was overly joyous with the decision by the board to sit in public, in reality the meeting was a huge disappointment.
She said: “It’s a great victory, I feel like Barack Obama. But it was as disputatious as the joint committee used to be. It wasted so much time. It’s hopeless, nothing ever gets done.”
The next meeting will be at 7pm on Thursday, November 27, in the Terrace Room, Small Mansion, Gunnersbury
Article originally featured on www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk
