Gunnersbury Park has submitted an application for consent to hold temporary events on two specific areas within its grounds, the Old Cricket Pitch and South Playing Fields, over a period of ten years. The application (P/2025/3274) was made public at the end of last week and can be read in full on the London Borough of Hounslow’s Planning and Building website. 

Access, Events, and Use of Land

The events we are seeking permission for would be of all types, including family-oriented events, community events, food festivals and music concerts to provide a rounded event calendar. The aim of the CIC is to provide a diverse event programme in the park to provide something for everyone within the Borough of Hounslow and beyond. This fits within the designation criteria for the use of Metropolitan Open Land, namely that it include ‘open-air facilities, especially for leisure, recreation, sport, the arts and cultural activities, which serve either the whole or significant parts of London.’

The area of the park designated for proposed events equates to 13% of the Park at the very maximum for any event arena. As has been standard with events held in past years, the park would continue to remain open to public access throughout all live events, as well as during the set-up and derigging periods. Additionally, access to the Museum, sports hall, the majority of the sports pitches and the majority of the park’s landscape is maintained for the public. 

Breaking down numbers within the application 

The planning permission would grant Gunnersbury the right to host events over the (nonconsecutive) span of 28 'live' days only, allowing for an additional 90 days for building, breaking down, removal and so-called “dark days” when no activity takes place, but an event has been set up.

The 28 days are divided into capacity bands, each with corresponding noise limits. 12 days may operate at the 73 dB limit; the rest must stay within lower thresholds. 

These parameters are far more stringent than is currently afforded under the existing premises license.

Addressing community impact and park ecology

Impact on the local community and on plants and wildlife remains a top priority for us. Gunnersbury has completed the surveys required for the application submission, and used the findings to directly informed the site layouts, management plans and monitoring works. The aims of these measures are to minimise any potential impacts on wildlife. 

As a direct consequence of our new proposals, we will deliver an on-site biodiversity gain of 10% above the Park’s current value, resulting in direct biodiversity benefit. 

There are direct benefits to the community that can be measured in terms of job growth, off-site local expenditure, economic output to the regional economy, and more, as outlined in the Socio-Economic Impact assessment submitted as part of the application. Additionally, all parties involved in the events -from the local councils, park managers, and event organisers- are committed to working collaboratively to improve the measures to reduce instances of antisocial behaviour and working with the police to respond to reports and to improve street management services.

Seeking Feedback from the Local Community

The planning application was validated and posted on the council’s web portal last week, and unfortunately, since the application must be validated by the council to be considered “ live”, it was not yet possible to seek direct resident feedback during Gunnersbury’s recent public feedback sessions. We are therefore encouraging local residents to table their comments to the council during the consultation period, here.