Garden Centre Plans likely to be put on hold CiP reconsidering putting a path across the hockey field
The proposed Garden Centre in Chiswick House Grounds incorporating larger car parking facilities has provoked widespread concern amongst the community. CiP has responded to the public’s concerns, in particular to the issue of reducing the size of the Hockey Field by re-routing paths. Now CiP, who are currently responsible for the development and maintenance of the grounds, are relooking at the plans to consider options that would not restrict community sport within the grounds. It is also likely that the plans for the Garden Centre will be put on hold until they can be considered in the context of the broader restoration project being sponsored by English Heritage. Ashley Riches of CiP told us “While we still feel that the impact of
our proposals for paths in the Hockey Field will be less significant than
previous correspondents fear, we recognize that users of the Grounds are
very concerned about any changes. All access options have pros and cons,
but we will be discussing the whole range of alternatives (including access
via the northern walled garden) with the planning department before proceeding
further." He added, "we share the widely expressed view that the Hockey Field
should continue to be used for informal sport and recreation. Re-routing
paths as we have proposed should not affect this kind of use or occasional
use for school athletics - problems only arise when users wish to set
out sports pitches of specified size. Finally, the plant centre needs
to sit in the context of the broader restoration project. It is very possible
that plans for the centre will in any case have to be held in abeyance
until the future of the Grounds is agreed between English Heritage and
the council.” Have your say on the future of Chiswick House Sign up for our free weekly newsletter Comment on this story on the Chiswick House Grounds users fear sports field will become unusable Garden Centre plans threaten sports in Chiswick House Grounds CiP's response to grounds users' concerns Massive Boost for Chiswick House Green
Fingered Volunteers Sought For Chiswick House Grounds Plans for Heritage Plant Centre Dawn of a New Era at Chiswick House Grounds? Friends express anger at "disgraceful" state of the grounds Plans for "Garden Centre" in Chiswick House Grounds |