Residents have backed the council’s proposal to open a new park in the borough as part of its commitment to creating 10 new parks and open spaces.
Almost two thirds of residents responding to a council consultation said they supported closing Perivale Park Golf Club to make it into a park.
Ealing Council has committed to opening 10 new parks by 2026. A new park in Perivale would eventually form part of a new regional park in the borough, which the council announced in September last year. This would be the very first regional park in the borough, and could be as transformative for west London as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park was for east London.
You can read more about some of the benefits a new regional park will bring about on the council’s website.
Between October and December 2023, we asked people for their view on the new regional park, and the proposed closure of Perivale Park Golf Course, in a public consultation, with 76% backing the new regional park and 62.5% supporting turning the golf course into a park.
Councillor Deirdre Costigan, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for climate action, said: “We made a commitment to create 10 new parks in the borough and plant 50,000 more trees. The proposal for a new park at Perivale could see us delivering the second of our 10 parks and would eventually form part of the regional park.
“We will work with local people on the final layout of the proposed new park but we have already put aside money to plant wild flower meadows and install benches, paths and new signage. As part of the regional park, we could see areas of forest, wetlands and new habitats for wildlife coming to the new park at Perivale in the future. We also want to explore the potential to continue to provide a cafe as part of the overall offer of a regional park.”
Councillor Polly Knewstub, cabinet member for thriving communities, said: “A new regional park would have sports, art, music, dance and culture at its heart and we remain committed to providing excellent sports and leisure facilities in Ealing.
“It’s wonderful to see that a huge 71% of you support a new cultural venue in the new park, we have a very real opportunity to offer world class music, performance and arts to our residents.”
Internationally recognised architects Priors + Partners are now leading on more engagement work and are part of a team preparing a masterplan for the new regional park.
What now?
In September last year Cabinet agreed in principle to close Perivale Golf Club, subject to consultation, and gave the strategic director for economy and sustainability at Ealing Council the authority to make the final decision. The recommendation to close the golf course and re-open as a park was published on 7 March and the decision will be taken on 15 March.
What was some of the key feedback from the consultation?
More than 6,000 people, as well as local groups and organisations, shared their views in the consultation.
There was resounding support for the idea of a regional park with 76% of survey responders supporting it.
A greener borough (54%), improved air quality (45%), and increased physical activity (43%) were the three benefits that participants rated as most important from a regional park.
2 out of 3 respondents selected hiking and walking as their top physical activity to do in the new regional park followed by water activities (42%) and cycling and scooting (34%).
A café or restaurant was one of the top facilities for the park among two-thirds of the respondents, followed by sports and leisure facilities (52%) and a community or visitor’s centre (40%) in the next two spots. Public toilets were the most common facility mentioned in the open-ended question.
19% of respondents said they wanted to improve other parks and areas in the borough, such as Gurnell Leisure Centre. The regional park project was viewed as ‘a misuse of funds and taxes’ by 11% of respondents, who said that the borough had enough parks already. 13% of respondents added a comment asking for Perivale Park Golf Course to stay open.
There was also strong backing for a new outdoor cultural venue in the park, with more than 71% giving this their seal of approval. People want to see activities such as open-air theatres and cinemas (29%), music festivals and concerts (20%), and general cultural events (28%).
Over 62% of respondents agreed with the proposed closure of Perivale Park Golf Course. Younger survey participants (aged 25-44) were generally more in agreement with the closure proposal (77%). Fewer of those aged 55 and over were in agreement (52%).
Almost 5 in 6 respondents (84%) stated that they either do not play golf at all or do not play golf at Perivale Park Golf Course, with 16% of respondents playing there at least a few times a year.
You can read the full consultation findings on the council’s website.
