FoI Request Shows Park View Place Encroachment on Protected Land

Planning officers assured developers this would not block proposal

A visualisation of Park View Place from opponents of the scheme

July 1, 2026

Ealing Council is facing mounting criticism after newly released documents revealed that planning officers privately assured developers their Park View Place scheme could proceed even though it encroaches on protected Metropolitan Open Land beside Grove Farm Nature Reserve in Greenford. The assurances, disclosed through Freedom of Information requests, have intensified concerns among residents, conservation groups and opposition councillors who say the 882-home development will cause lasting harm to one of the borough’s most ecologically sensitive sites.

The Park View Place proposals, currently under consultation, would transform a disused car park south of Sudbury Hill Underground Station into a high-density residential neighbourhood of conventional flats and co-living units, with towers rising up to sixteen storeys. The site sits immediately beside Grove Farm, a Local Nature Reserve and designated Site of Importance for Nature Conservation. Much of the land surrounding the reserve is Metropolitan Open Land, which carries Green Belt-level protection and is intended to prevent development except under very special circumstances.

During preparation of its new Local Plan, Ealing Council de-designated part of Grove Farm’s MOL to facilitate development, despite objections from residents and conservation groups. However, the FOI correspondence shows that even this revised boundary was not enough for the developer, whose plans extend across remaining protected land. Rather than instructing the developer to amend the design, council planning officers told them that the overlap “should not impede delivery of your proposed scheme” and that the application provided “a fairly solid basis to justify any future MOL boundary changes”. The developer’s representatives welcomed the response, describing it as “positive”.

The implications for Grove Farm are significant. The development would push construction hard up against Coston’s Brook, a wildlife corridor that relies on darkness and limited human access to support species movement. The developer’s own documents acknowledge that the current design will destroy 0.27 hectares of woodland, including trees over a century old, and disturb badgers and eight species of bats that forage along the brook. The buffer zone between the nature reserve and the new buildings would be reduced, and light pollution from the towers would impede the brook’s ecological function. The FOI response from Ealing Council confirmed that officers found no separate correspondence specifically addressing harm to the SINC or detailed mitigation measures.

Friends of Grove Farm, the local conservation group, said the disclosures show the council is willing to abandon its own land designations in the face of pressure from developers. They said they fought to keep Grove Farm’s MOL protection during development of the Local Plan and were told the nature reserve would remain protected by other designations. They emphasised that they have never opposed development of the car park itself, but object strongly to the council privately signalling that MOL protections “should not impede” a scheme that would fell woodland, damage the brook and harm a wildlife corridor. They argue that none of this is necessary and that a sensible redesign could deliver the homes without harming the reserve.

CGI of Park View Place plans. Picture: tp bennett

Residents have long warned that the scale of Park View Place is inappropriate for the location. Earlier coverage highlighted concerns about congestion, pressure on local services and the loss of Grove Farm’s tranquillity. Wendy Knight, a member of Friends of Grove Farm, described the reserve as a sanctuary for wildlife and people, noting her own recordings of bats, invertebrates and other species that rely on the woodland and meadow habitats. She said any removal of trees would have a damaging effect on biodiversity and urged planners to reconsider the scale of the development. Another campaigner, Mike Pilkington, said the reserve has become part of his family’s life and that walking through it often feels like stepping away from suburbia into the countryside. He fears that feeling will be lost and described the repeated planning cycles as exhausting, with each new iteration appearing taller and more intrusive.

Opposition councillors have also condemned the approach. Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition Gary Malcolm said his party has consistently argued that MOL status should be retained to protect land from overdevelopment and negative outcomes for flora and fauna, and that the council should not tinker with the rules to allow harm to Grove Farm or similar areas. Conservative councillors for North Greenford criticised the scheme as an excessive intensification of the site, creating a continuous and visually dominant built form that would materially alter the existing townscape character, particularly along the western edge adjoining Grove Farm. They said the development does not demonstrate that its scale has been moderated to respond to the sensitive open-space setting.

The site is currently a disused car park. Picture: tp bennett

The Park View Place application, reference 261463FUL, remains open for public comment on Ealing Council’s planning portal. With every submission so far opposing the scheme, pressure is growing on the council to explain its private assurances to the developer and to justify any future changes to Grove Farm’s protected status. A date has not yet been set for the proposal to go before the planning committee.

Ealing Council has not responded to a request for comment.

Written with contributions from John Blake