Carols in Grove Park and More on Chiswick Tower and Gunnersbury Park

Report back from Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick

Andy Slaughter MP

December 12, 2025

As many residents will be aware, Gunnersbury Park recently announced plans to massively increase the number of live events in the park for the next 10 years. Understandably, residents have been concerned by the announcement with many writing to my office. I recently attended and spoke at a busy meeting in the Triangle Club at Gunnersbury Park Gardens Estate on the proposal by the operators of Gunnersbury Park. I was really pleased to see Chiswick councillors and council candidates Hanif Khan and Trevor Macfarlane there with everyone focused on looking after residents’ interests. As we discussed in the meeting, this is not opposition to all events, but a plea for reasonable limits on both noise and the amount of time the park is fenced off.

The planning application for Chiswick Tower and the annex has now been approved to include social rent units, co-living units and importantly, will allow for future improvements to the station for better access and capacity. As I have been doing throughout this process, I will continue to meet with Network Rail and TfL to discuss their progress on a scheme.

On Thursday evening I was delighted to attend the Grove Park Christmas Carols and get into the Christmas spirit with the delicious mulled wine and mince pies. On Friday morning I paid a visit to Chiswick School as part of an event for Parliament Week. It was great to meet with the pupils and speak with them about my role as an MP and answer their questions about how Parliament works.

This week I attended a briefing by the Met on knife crime as well as the H&F borough-wide briefing on ‘New Met for London 2’ - a well-attended meeting hosted at POSK. I asked about how the boroughs can work together and if we can avoid officers being taken for ceremonial duties and demonstrations in central London. I also met with Tim Orchard, Imperial NHS Trust Chief Executive to talk about how your local hospitals are coping with the flu crisis.

I met with Mike Brown, former head of TfL and now chair of HS2. We discussed the future of Old Oak station, the link to Euston and where it will terminate in the north. I am assured that details on revised cost and the timetable for the build are due to be published early in the New Year.

In justice news, the Justice Committee launched a new inquiry this week on preventing reoffending when prisoners are released. This inquiry is designed to work together with our previous inquiry on rehabilitation. The new inquiry will start by looking at housing and accommodation for those who are newly released and what impact this has on the likelihood of reoffending.

On Friday there was another welcome and positive announcement from the government, with an extra £3bn given to local councils to fund school places for children with special educational needs. The plan is to create additional SEND places in schools for children, reducing the need for families to travel long distances for a SEND provision. This is a much-needed announcement to ensure children with special educational needs can receive the education they are entitled to in safe and supportive school environment.

Best wishes,

Andy

andy@andyslaughter.com

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