The Duke of Northumberland (pictured) has spurned a proposal from community members to buy a three-acre plot that he intends to turn into an 80-home scheme, heightening a long-running battle over the site.
Allotment holders and residents proposed to buy the Park Road allotments at Ralph Percy’s Syon Park estate in south-west London, maintaining its use as allotment space.
Solicitors have written to the duke, asking whether he would consider a fair offer for the land, according to a letter seen by EG and dated 22 April.
Salman Shaheen, Labour councillor for Isleworth, told EG that members were willing to pay some £30,000 for the land, which would be issued through a community share scheme. He added that he was aware of 1,000 objections registered against the Duke’s plans, with a separate 3,000 signatures secured on a petition. Under new ownership, the site would also be opened up to the public for both community and educational events.
A representative for Northumberland Estates confirmed that the estate received the letter, but said the senders have been told that the duke has “no plans” to sell the site, adding that it did not view the offer as a “practical solution”.
“The scheme we are proposing preserves allotments for local people long into the future and maintains significant open green space,” said Colin Barnes, director of Northumberland Estates. He added that the site has “never been used by the general public” and that only “about a third” of the allotments have been in use in recent years.
“We have offered new allotments to previous licence holders, as we believe their needs can be satisfied in terms of plot sizes, sheds and water supply, and if not taken up could provide these to others who do not have access to a garden.”
Barnes added: “Our scheme provides much-needed affordable housing and homes for key workers, long-term allotments, and would ultimately deliver benefits to the wider public through improvements to Syon House, which is a major public attraction in the area.”
Last week the duke launched an appeal over Hounslow Council’s unanimous decision to reject his proposals for the site. While the residential scheme would take up the majority of the plot, it proposes the creation of 38 new allotments alongside it.
Shaheen said that the community was “deeply disappointed” by the duke’s decision to appeal. He added that Hounslow’s waiting list for allotments has risen to more than 1,200 and that an empty space at the Park Road allotments would be “snapped up in a heartbeat” if relet.
“The entire community is really united against this [proposal] to concrete over our allotments, which have been used since the First World War,” he said. “They are very much treasured by the community.”
In his appeal to the planning inspectorate, the duke claimed that the relevant allotment licences expired in September last year and that they were not operational, which has been refuted by Shaheen.
Shaheen said the 40 allotments were “very much operational”, and that the duke has not sent any valid notices of eviction to allotment holders.
Northumberland Estates said that while licences were not renewed last year, allotment holders have “had access for later harvesting”.
Shaheen said: “It’s not that we don’t want housing – we do need more – but there are plenty of brownfield sites in the area where both developers and the council are building thousands of homes.”
See also: Tensions grow over Duke of Northumberland’s plan to build on allotments
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