Hounslow Planning Committee, at their meeting on 20th January, will consider a proposal which, if permitted, would see the end of lawn bowling at Gunnersbury Park.

Bowling has been played on the same site since 1931 but ceased at the end of the season in October 2019. The Gunnersbury Park Community Interest Company (the CIC) has refused to allow Gunnersbury

Park Bowls Club (GPBC) to remain at their home or to have access to the site. For 20 years the cost of maintaining the Bowls Pavilion and bowling green has been borne by members of the Club.

Without consultation with the Bowls Club or with the wider community, the CIC entered into a commercial arrangement with a company called Putt in the Park to use the Bowls Pavilion and bowling green as a cafe/restaurant and a mini golf facility.

This facility would see up to 30,000 visitors year and would offer a pizzeria and an artificial mini golf course. This would be quite unlike the pitch and putt course that used to be in Gunnersbury Park.

The use of the bowling green as a mini-golf facility does not in itself require planning permission but that would inevitably follow a consent for the adaptation of the Bowls Pavilion.

In April 2020 a virtually identical planning application was refused by planning officers on the grounds that:

"Insufficient evidence has been received to demonstrate that the existing use is no longer required and consequently the loss of the D2 community facility would be contrary to Policy CI1 (Providing and Protecting Community Facilities) of the Local Plan."

The officer's recommendation is that the planning application should again be refused, on the same grounds. The application has been "called in" by a local councillor for determination by the Planning Committee.

In common with most bowls clubs in recent years, GPBC has experienced a decline in membership.

However there has been a recent resurgence of interest in the sport and a very low-key campaign has led to a doubling of GPBC membership to over 40.

We believe that, with just a little help and encouragement, the Club has a bright future.

During autumn 2020 a group of local volunteers gained access to the site and succeeded in clearing weeds and mowing the bowling green. The green still needs a great deal of TLC but it is recoverable.

Brentford Voice very strongly support GPBC in opposing this planning application. The Friends of Gunnersbury Park have also lodged a strong objection.

If you would like to make your views known on this proposal, whether for or against, then you may wish to write a short email to members of the Planning Committee. The subject line of your email should be:

"Planning Committee 20 January 2021 - Agenda Item 3. Gunnersbury Park Bowls Club".

The email addresses for the members of this Planning Committee are:

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

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[email protected]

The full agenda for the Planning Committee is available HERE