Qualified Welcome for Council's Regional Park Proposal

But local environmental charity warns of increased flood risk

Perivale Golf Course provides local homes with protection from flooding. Picture: Phil Alford

November 23, 2023

A local environmental charity has given a cautious welcome to Ealing Council’s plans for a Regional Park but has warned that it must be careful not to increase flood risk in the area.

The Brent River & Canal Society (BRCS) has endorsed much of the report in its response to the council’s consultation but has highlighted parts of the plan that could potentially result in a rise in the chance of local housing being flooded.

One area of concern is the Perivale Park Golf Course, which already plays a key part in the area’s flood defences, and BRCS is not convinced that the council has properly consider the impact of any changes in this area.

The BRCS says in a statement of the Regional Park plan, “It is not possible simply to rebadge it, to build on it and then hope that climate change and more frequent and severe flooding will go away.”

The charity was set up in the 1970s to create the Brent River Park and the area remains a critical component of Ealing’s flood defences. The parkland between Hanger Lane and the Wharncliffe Viaduct regularly floods after heavy rain which provides an important boost to the area’s flood resilience. It absorbs and retains the surge of water that would otherwise swell the river and cause problems for homes and businesses. Any reduction in this flood plain volume or any introduction of hardstanding in the proposed park will reduce its effectiveness and the BRCS is therefore committed to oppose any measures of this nature.

Brent Valley Golf Course flooding also plays a part in the area's flood resilience. Picture: Phil Alford

While welcoming the incorporation of some of the measures suggested by the BRCS during the consultation into the Draft Local Plan into the regional park scheme, the charity says it has otherwise been excluded from the process with the initiative being drawn up ‘entirely behind closed doors’. BRCS has 50 years’ experience of protecting the Brent River Park, and it believes its expertise could have offered Ealing Council valuable insights into the importance of carbon capture and flood management.

It does however acknowledged that the plan will see a significant increase in connected habitats which will encourage wildlife and provide ecological resilience. The BRCS believes that that meadows and grasslands are among the best ways to capture carbon. However, the BRCS has warned that some of the ideas appearing in the consultation will increase the likelihood and frequency of properties being flooded in Perivale, Pitshanger, Greenford and Hanwell by reducing the Park’s flood storage capacity.

Flooding on Costons Lane near Greenford Bridge in 1977

BRCS Chair Phil Belman commented, “The Council stated long ago that we already have a Regional Park in Ealing, the Brent River Park. The extension of the Brent River Park into a wider area, as we proposed earlier this year, is most welcome.

“With the greater volume and frequency of heavy rainfall we now see from global warming, it would be reckless to reduce the flood water storage capacity or to increase the rate of rainwater run-off within the catchment of the River Brent. We know that climate change is already producing more sudden storms. Ealing Council must now look to reduce the amount of hard-standing in the park, not increase it.

“Some of the suggestions in the report, such as new cafés, sports buildings and even an amphitheatre, must not impinge on the flood plain. This consultation raises expectations for new facilities that are likely to prove unsustainable.”

Mr Belman also took issue with the statement made in the consultation that the Council needed to close Perivale Park Golf Course to create the Regional Park, “Perivale Park Golf Course is an important part of the Brent River Park with its network of footpaths and access along the riverside. Whether or not it is viable as a golf course is irrelevant to this consultation on a Regional Park. If the golf course is closed, the existing Brent River Park Management Plan should still be followed with the fairways and open areas being returned to meadowland and the existing woodlands and hedges retained with full public access. Perivale Park Golf Course is right next to the Brent, so whatever the Council proposes to do with it must not involve putting any more hard-standing there than already exists.”

“Ealing Council should be working towards the Government’s ’30 by 30’ target of protecting 30 percent of its land for nature by 2030. It needs to be looking for ways to add to its green space, not building on it.”

The BRCS is encouraging residents to complete the consultation and to emphasise the following points:

• The Brent River Park is essential to the Borough’s flood management – soaking up and holding back excess water that would otherwise flood residential areas.
• Any proposals must not increase hard-standing or reduce flood storage within the Park.
• The need to increase the amount of green space in the borough, to improve flood resilience, restore natural habitats, increase biodiversity and provide more room for nature to re-establish itself.
• Maximum benefits will arise from joined up and well maintained parks and waterways. This principle applies to flood protection, plants and wildlife; routes for activities, supporting wellbeing and amenities.
• The Brent River Park name must stay – it has a long and distinguished history.

The consultation, which can be completed online is open for comments until 19 December.