Council Moves to Bid for Park Road Allotments
Market price to be offered to Northumberland Estates
The Park Road Allotments. Picture: Val Snewin
February 13, 2025
Hounslow Council’s cabinet has approved a plan to seek to buy the Park Road Allotments at a meeting this Tuesday (11 February).
It was resolved that a bid for the freehold should be made at market price to the current owners, Northumberland Estates, to guarantee continued use as allotments.
The report urging the move highlighted their value to the health and social wellbeing of the local community and the high demand for plots in the borough.
Local Authorities have a statutory duty to provide allotments, and Hounslow currently manages 29 sites with 1,973 lettable plots and 1,822 applicants on the waiting list including 411 in the Brentford and Isleworth area. The Park Road Allotments site has 40 plots with potential for another 5.
The report states that demand for allotments has been widening in the Borough since 2018 with the number of vacancies growing more slowly. As the local population has increased, and more people have moved to homes without gardens, the demand for allotments has risen. The recent cost of living crisis, increased interest in “growing your own”, during Covid, and better awareness of sustainable growing and healthy eating are also believed to have stoked demand.
The council has been seeking to increase provision by renovating existing plots and instituting a ‘use it or lose it’ policy in which those found not to be cultivating their plots will forfeit them.
The Park Road site has hosted allotments for over 100 years and was operated on a lease with Northumberland Estates which ran up to 2015 since when the land management company of the Duke of Northumberland has sought to develop housing at the location.
In 2016 it applied to develop the site for 127 homes for private rent and in 2021 80 flats for private rent was also refused and rejected on appeal in December 2023.
The Cabinet has delegated authority to a senior council officer in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Culture Leisure & Public Spaces, to make the necessary arrangements to acquire Park Road Allotments within the approved budget.
When we approached Northumberland Estates for comment, its spokesperson said, "The Estate was unaware that Hounslow Council had passed a resolution to make an offer for the Park Road allotments and has not received any recent correspondence from the Council. From our perspective, the site remains in use as allotments, and we are continuing with planned improvements."
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