Local campaigners fighting to preserve a 1.2-hectare space in west London that is under threat from one of Britain’s oldest aristocratic families have landed a victory in a long-running saga to turn the green space into flats.
Development plans to pave over much of the Park Road allotments in Isleworth were rejected by the Planning Inspectorate on Tuesday, on the grounds that it would harm protected local open space and heritage assets – and would be detrimental to allotment provision in an area where demand outstripped supply.
The Isleworth councillor Salman Shaheen, who has been working with local people for years to preserve the site, said: “Today’s decision preserves allotments that have been worked and loved by the people of Isleworth for over a century and will safeguard our little patch of paradise for generations to come.
“Demand for allotments has only surged in the wake of the pandemic. And this planning inquiry has proven that we need more green space to grow food, not less.”
The land, which belongs to the Grade I-listed Syon Park estate owned by the 12th Duke of Northumberland, Ralph Percy, was first used as allotments after the first world war, leased to the council by the duke’s ancestors to help grow vegetables.
In 2015, the Percy family revoked the lease and regained control from Hounslow council, with plans to build on the land that were later rejected.
In October 2021, a second application to build 80 flats was rejected after the council received more than 900 objections from local people. The latest failed appeal, brought by the Northumberland Estates development company, began in August.
The proposed plans for the green space would have left a small fraction of the allotment for the existing users. The estate argued the benefits of the planned development, including affordable housing and homes for NHS workers, would outweigh the “small” loss of land and redistribution of the allotments.
Colin Barnes, the planning and development director of Northumberland Estates, said: “We are disappointed that this scheme, which would have provided much-needed affordable housing while retaining green space and allotments, has not been approved. We will take some time to consider our options.”
Local people who use the allotment previously said the development plans were a “travesty” and showed no understanding of the land’s valued biodiversity and importance to the local community.
Responding to Tuesday’s rejection, the allotment holder and chair of the Park Road Allotment Association, Stephen Hurton, said members delighted by the decision.
“These allotments have brought such joy to plot-holders. They have been a place of sanctuary and community where people, young and old, can come together to grow food and be amongst nature,” he said.
“We hope that we can work with Northumberland Estates to maintain the site as allotments.”
