Hounslow Labour silence any opposition on Gunnersbury Park events application

Ealing Lib Dem Councillor Lakhbir Singh was denied the ability to speak against Gunnersbury Park event approach by Hounslow Labour.

Many residents in both Ealing and Hounslow boroughs, awaiting the outcome of the Gunnersbury Park events application on Thursday, 6 August, were disappointed. Instead, they were met with a deferral by Hounslow Labour at the expected Council planning meeting. The proposal was for a new five-year blanket approval for events rather than the specific event-by-event planning permission with individual requirements. Gunnersbury Park is jointly run by Hounslow and Ealing Councils, although Hounslow seems to lead on many park matters!

In 2025, there were 737 recorded complaints, with many residents no longer reporting complaints due to previous submissions being ignored. This shows that this is a serious resident issue. 

Ealing Lib Dem Councillor Lakhbir Singh (Ealing Common ward) applied to speak at the meeting against the application. Sadly, at the meeting, the Hounslow Labour Chair and councillors vetoed his ability to speak effectively silencing any opposition. 

Councillor Lakhbir Singh had been advised that he would be able to speak using part of the time allocated for the public objectors. However, on the day, the Hounslow Labour chair refused his ability to speak. The result of this was to quiet any opposing voices.

Councillor Singh sought to raise the following issues put forward by local residents:

• Excessive noise
• Lack of access to large areas of the Park, mostly in summer months
• Resident parking pressure and illegal parking
• Lack of traffic and pedestrian management in gaining access to events and no traffic management strategy or plan
• Anti-social behaviour, including public urination in gardens
• A blanket approval over five years is too long.
• Maximum capacity of 30,000 is excessive.
• Insufficient consideration for different event types and needs

These alone provide sufficient basis to refuse the application.

Ealing Liberal Democrat Councillor Lakhbir Singh said: “Ealing Liberal Democrats and local residents cannot agree to this blanket five-year approval, which is overgenerous and seeks to prioritise the economic benefit of the events over the harm to local residents. I am extremely disappointed that local residents and myself were prevented from speaking.”

Notes to Editors
See Annex A for draft speech

Annex A - Councillor Lakhbir Singh Lib Dem Ealing Common Ward Draft Speech for Meeting on Thursday, 6 August 2026
"I am Councillor Lakhbir Singh from Ealing Common ward of Ealing Council. I am speaking to set out that the problems of excessive noise, lack of access to large areas of the Park, parking pressure and anti-social behaviour very much affect Ealing Borough residents as well as Hounslow ones. While I welcome the concessions made compared with the initial version of this application, a 5-year permission is still too long; the total period for which large parts of the park would be out of use has reduced by only three days and is still almost a third of each year, and the maximum capacity remains at an entirely excessive 30,000.

The proposed noise levels, including very high levels of bass, which residents would be faced with over such an excessive number of days, are impossible to justify in terms of NPPF paragraphs 187 and London Plan policy D14. 

The application is also flawed in that it fails to properly address traffic issues, relying on the notion that everyone attending uses public transport. Most do, but many drive, with some parking in controlled parking zones, on double yellow lines or very anti-socially across driveways. Some residents tell me that they need to stand outside their homes on event days to keep their drives clear. Others report taking over an hour to cross Gunnersbury Avenue. Lack of proper traffic management alone should be a reason to refuse this application. 

I must also mention the most unsavoury aspect of these events, which is the anti-social behaviour of some festival-goers, including being abusive to residents and urinating in gardens. Some of these events have not been well-managed. 

Up to now, each event needed a separate planning permission, with all the democratic checks and balances that entails. In 2025, there were 737 recorded complaints - with many more residents suffering but not complaining because their previous complaints have been ignored. How many more problems would there be if this 5-year blanket permission were granted tonight, so there were no incentive for Gunnersbury Park to even attempt to be a good neighbour? 

This application seeks to increase the number of noisy event days and total days of disruption over what residents have endured in recent years. I submit that the economic benefit to the Gunnersbury Park CIC does not justify this level of harm to residents. I urge the committee to take into consideration the impact on residents of both boroughs of such a huge number of very large events each year and reject this application."