OVER 70 local residents took to the streets last weekend to protest the proposed plans to build on the Park Road Allotment Gardens.

The march took place on Saturday, July 24, and was arranged by the Isleworth Society and the Allotment Holders.

Protesters included Salman Shaheen, Councillor for Isleworth Ward, residents as old as 85 years old, a dog named Luther, and Tom Morley from the 80s band, Scritti Pollitti, who led the march by beating time on a snare drum.

The three-acre site at the heart of the protest has been used as allotments for over a century, but is facing an uncertain future, as it could be replaced with seven blocks of flats.

The march route went through Syon Park and demonstrators protested in front of Syon House.

The march ended with speeches by Cllr Shaheen, Sue Casey, Chair of the Isleworth Society, and Annie Aloysius, Secretary of the Park Road Allotments Association.

Cllr Shaheen said: "Over there sits a little patch of paradise.

"A wildlife haven and a green lung in the heart of our community.

"It's stood there for over 100 years.

"First established to feed wounded soldiers returning from the war, it once again provides a lifeline to our community during the mental and physical hardships of COVID.

"The Duke of Northumberland wants to take all that away from us.

"He wants to bulldoze over our allotments and put up flats.

"Unless we throw out his application, every shrub and insect on that site will be left dead under concrete.

"Why? He claims he needs the money to do up Syon House.

"But can we really believe one of Britain's richest men can't find less destructive means to fund it?

"He claims the land is his to do with as he pleases.

"Well, there's one thing I think we should all be asking him.

"Where's your receipt?"

Annie Aloysius, Secretary of the Park Road Allotments Association, said: "Now more than ever we are aware of the importance of fighting to maintain Park Road Allotments; as an asset of community value, to educate children about the importance of protecting their environment for the future, as a way to enable wellbeing and to support mental health as well as to grow fruit and vegetables and provide a better future for us all."

Sue Casey, Chair of The Isleworth Society, said: "I'm delighted with the way the march went.

"There was fantastic support from the wider Isleworth community and the fact that over 1,000 letters of objection have now been sent shows the strength of resistance there is to the planned development.

"The site is located just behind All Saints Church and in the Isleworth Riverside Conservation Area, and as well as being home to a range of wildlife, there are also several mature fruit trees that hark back to Isleworth's Victorian heyday as a major market garden for the City of London.

"With so much of Isleworth's past already having been destroyed, it is vital to save what is left, but more than that, the site is of value to the whole community providing much needed green, open space."

You can find the petition HERE.