Public’s views sought on new park plan

Rectory Farm

Wednesday 7 November 2012

People have another opportunity this weekend to learn about plans to create a new public park in Heston and Cranford. Public consultations are running at the Treaty Centre in Hounslow on Friday (November 9) and Saturday (November 10) from 9am to 6pm.

The consultations have been very productive and we hope to meet many more local people on Friday and Saturday at the Treaty Centre

Local people will be able to express their opinions on the revised plans, talk about facilities they would like to see in the park and ask any questions. The landowner, Formal Investments, wants to create the 110-acre park whilst it extracts the gravel and sand underneath the disused land known as Rectory Farm, north of Bath Road (A4) and east of The Parkway (A312).

The innovative project would see the gravel and sand safely taken from beneath the new park’s surface, leaving behind underground spaces that businesses and other organisations could use for storage and other activities that would create jobs.

Hounslow residents have already attended a series of exhibitions at Heston Community Centre, Cranford Community College and Treaty Centre. So far more than 350 questionnaires have been completed, with the overwhelming majority supportive of the plans.

Some people have said they are concerned about the project’s impact on traffic. In response, the proposals have been amended to take the site entrance further away from the Waggoners roundabout and to introduce a traffic light junction.

In response to local residents who said they want the park to be kept free of anti-social behaviour, it’s proposed that the existing farmhouse on the site would become the home of the head park warden and that the park would be locked at night.

Richard Jones, Project Manager, said: “The consultations have been very productive and we hope to meet many more local people on Friday and Saturday at the Treaty Centre. The more people we talk to about these plans, the wider the understanding of what we are trying to.

“We have amended the plans in response to feedback about traffic and access and we are keen to find out what other questions or worries residents have. We’ve asked what people want to see in the park, we’ve have had some great suggestions and look forward to receiving more.”

People can find out more and complete the questionnaire at www.rectory-farm.com