Say extra cost could end up being as much as membership of nearby health clubs

The allotments at Dukes Meadows . Picture: Google Streetview

Allotment holders in Dukes Meadows are opposing Hounslow Council's plan to introduce parking restrictions, saying many of its elderly members will not be able to afford the extra cost.

The Council is currently carrying out a public consultation on the introduction of parking charges for the area. The Council says that the roads across the site, including Dan Mason Drive, Riverside Drive and The Promenade are long and narrow, with cars often blocking access and parked on the grass verges.

But the members of the Chiswick Horticultural & Allotments Society (CHAS), which was founded in 1915, say this will have a negative effect on members, many of whom are elderly. The Chairman of CHAS, Henry Gewanter, has written to the Head of Parks at Hounslow Council, saying "the new proposals are not only a betrayal of the initial consultation, but a backwards and self-defeating step in the borough’s efforts to encourage a healthier lifestyle for its residents."

CHAS say they have been parking on the only site available them them (the parking lot outside the golf club on Dan Mason Drive/The Promenade) and the introduction of charges will make it almost impossible for their many elderly members to visit their allotments, particularly if they have to walk a long distance from their cars.

"Most of the allotment holders are pensioners, in their late 60's and 70's and even 80's. As many of us visit 3 or 4 times a week and spend several hours there -we would be paying fees on a par with the fees of the posh health clubs nearby. That is up to £30 per week. Who can afford this?. This is the only parking site near our allotments. And as this is the only parking site available to us where else can we park?

"Hounslow Council is intending to install meters and charge us up to £8 per visit to park here. The contention is that this will prevent people parking on the grass verges. This is blatantly false as the council has installed bollards along Dan Mason Drive thus preventing anyone parking on the verges.

"Elderly allotment holders of Chiswick have been paying their council tax for donkeys years and it is outrageous to ask them to pay these fees on top of the fees for their allotment. Most of us use the allotment as a means of getting out of the house, for companionship, and for the promotion of our mental and physical well being

"To make matters worse, it is their intention to charge on a Sunday!! This is an insult since the streets nearby allow free parking Do they expect us to park in these streets and walk the mile or so to our allotment!! Some of us have difficulty walking and some are slightly disabled. "

The allotment holders say they would be prepared to pay a small fee on top of allotment charges so they can park on this site, "but the charges they are advocating are simply unacceptable for us and would mean some of us would not be able to use our allotments on a regular basis."

They have urged their members to vote against the planned introduction of parking restrictions before the closing date of the public consultation on 21 December.

A previous pilot scheme in the Riverside Drive area was so successful that the Council decided on plans to extend parking controls to the whole site.

The restrictions would principally involve Dan Mason Drive, Riverside Drive and The Promenade and include the following:

*‘No waiting at any time’ restrictions (double yellow lines) along Dan Mason Drive, The Promenade and Riverside Drive;
*Loading (up to 20minutes) is permitted on double yellow line restrictions – this would allow, for example, people to load and unload materials associated with the Allotment gardens.
*New pay-by-phone parking tariff introduced Monday-Sunday 9am-5pm,
*Potential for additional new parking spaces on Riverside Drive to be explored;
*The parking bays proposed are to be surfaced as per the existing spaces on Riverside Drive to assist in preserving the parkland character of the area;
*Visual impacts of the scheme minimised through the use of cashless parking (RingGo). Pay-and-Display machines will not be used;
*Protected areas for coach turning movements provided on either side of the Bandstand;
*New parking bays for market visitors on Alexandra Gardens – Sundays only, 10am-2pm; and
*Re-configured parking layouts at Barnes Hockey Club and Chiswick Boat House car parks to maximise off-street parking provision;

The introduction of parking restrictions forms part of the huge programme of planned improvements to the park, the Dukes Meadows Masterplan, which were approved in February 2018. It involves upgrading a range of sports and leisure facilities on the site including, rugby, hockey, football, rowing, cricket, tennis and golf. The wider plans include improvements to the Dukes Meadows Bandstand and a pedestrian walkway built across the river to Barnes.

Hounslow Council had introduced 'experimental' parking restrictions in the Riverside Drive area, above, which it says was a success.

December 12, 2018