The allotment gardeners who took on a duke – and won
From the entrance of Park Road Allotments in Isleworth, West London, you can see the imposing brick wall that borders Syon Park, the London estate of the Duke of Northumberland – a battle line that separates this wild green corner from the manicured grounds and Grade I listed house beyond.
In winter, the allotments are usually quiet: in hibernation, waiting for spring. But today, they are a hive of activity. A self-proclaimed “rag-tag bunch” of local residents have – at long last – won a historic battle against one of Britain’s wealthiest men. As a new war wages between the residents of Holkham and the Earl of Leicester over rights to prime common land on the Norfolk coast, it’s a case that offers rich pickings.
Last month, the Planning Inspectorate rejected an appeal lodged by Northumberland Estates, which manages the property empire of Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland – worth an estimated £445 million – which sought to pave over nearly three-quarters of the allotments and build a block of 80 flats.
The three-acre site, which is privately owned but open to the public, was first leased to the council by the Duke’s ancestors in 1917 to help provide food to wounded soldiers returning from the First World War. Today, it is a lifeline for locals who live in high-rises without gardens – a private haven where residents pick blackberries and children play.
As the case proves, a community taking on an aristocrat is a tale as old as time. But this particular “peasant’s revolt” began eight years ago. Northumberland Estate first revoked Hounslow Council’s lease and applied to develop the site of the allotments in 2015. Initial proposals were rejected.
Another application was lodged in 2020. When that in turn was rejected, the Duke appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, insisting that the needs of local gardeners would be met by smaller allotments on the estate. Residents fought back at every turn: around 1,000 letters of objection were submitted to the council and a petition was signed by 3,000 residents.
Grace Gray, 81, has been tending her allotment here for nearly 40 years and, over the course of the campaign against the Duke’s bulldozers, has become something of an unofficial spokesperson.
It is midwinter, and so most of her patch is bare, but there are still carrots, baby leeks and greens to be found. (I leave with a bag full of Savoy cabbage and homemade blackberry and bramble jam.) A robin is perched on the fence. It is a quiet, crisp morning, save for the planes bound for Heathrow that rumble overhead.
Gray moved to the area in the 1960s and was “over the moon” when she secured an allotment. “Fortunately, at that time, it wasn’t so trendy,” she says. Now, there is a 1,000-strong waiting list.
In summer, Gray travels here each day trailed by Darcy, her devoted chihuahua-maltese cross. She usually comes daily throughout winter, too, but a recent bout of bad health means it has been more of a struggle.
“I used to love it for the solitude,” she says. But “since we’ve all got together and got so melded into one, I just love all the people. It’s such a mix. We’ve had differences of opinion, as you do in a lively community, but all with one aim at the end of the day, and a successful aim thank goodness.”
News of their victory was “wonderful”, she says, because “I adore my allotment, but above all that this isn’t concreted over. Someone said to me yesterday: ‘Is this the start of us actually seeing it happening? Of heritage coming ahead of finance?’ Because you see it so infrequently and so many people are battling up and down the country.”
The Appeal decision concluded that “the proposal would harm the character and appearance of the Conservation Area” and the proposed allotment space would be inadequate in relation to the need in the area and the existing provision on site.”
It is what Labour councillor Salman Shaheen has described as a “David versus Goliath fight from the very beginning… the Duke, with all his resources, threw an expensive KC [King’s Counsel] at us, while the allotment holders were represented by pro bono lawyers,” he says. When they got the call to say the Appeal had been rejected, they were “overjoyed with excitement. Then we hit the pub straight afterwards to celebrate… the best Christmas present we could have asked for.”
The “David and Goliath” narrative is one that the estate insists is unfair. When they took over management of the site from the council in 2015, they say it was overgrown and under-utilised. Proposals for development protected allotments at their current level of cultivation. (Although Park Road Allotment Association has previously described this argument as a “cynical ploy”.)
Colin Barnes, Director of Planning and Development at Northumberland Estates said, “We are disappointed in the outcome of the Park Road planning inquiry. This case clearly demonstrates conflicting interests when it comes to land use.
“The housing crisis in London is well documented, and this scheme would have provided 80 homes, 40 per cent of them affordable, with 30 units reserved for Chelsea and Westminster Hospital workers – to meet a housing need identified by the hospital itself – as well as retain green space and allotments. We will consider the judgement and take some time to consider our options.”
Councillor Shaheen gives this argument short shrift. “So the Duke said, ‘we need housing’. Actually, Hounslow Council has exceeded its house building targets in the area. There are tons of brownfield sites… Thousands of flats are going up in the area and most of them don’t have gardens. People need green space around them.”
This corner of land, small though it may be, is invaluable, he argues. Fellow allotment holder Annie Aloysius says it has been “life-changing” for local children, some of whom have no outdoor space or only have access to a balcony. Parents are “able to come down with their kids and teach them about how to grow things”, she says. “Some of them get into it and some of them don’t, but it’s really nice to be part of that.
“It’s not just about growing fruit and vegetables, it’s also about what it does to people. I’ve lived in Isleworth for 28 years now and have two kids, and it’s the only place where they meet [other] local people. The diversity of ages, ethnicities and jobs… and you become wonderful friends.”
The people of Park Road might have won the battle, but they haven’t won the war. Ultimately, the land is part of the estate and can be used as the Duke chooses – even if that is rewilding rather than redevelopment. Speaking after the Planning Inspectorate’s decision to reject the appeal by Northumberland Estates, Shaheen was adamant: “This planning inquiry has proven that we need more green space to grow food, not less. I now ask that the Duke of Northumberland abandon threats made during the inquiry to evict allotment holders if his plans were rejected.”
One thing is for sure: they won’t go quietly.
