Councillor Joanna Biddolph has responded to the resident-led request for a review of the Gunnersbury Park licence for festivals in the park. She supports the residents' requests in full and with enthusiasm and asked for other conditions to be imposed, based on the many complaints she has received during and after festivals since Lovebox/Citadel burst into resident's eardrums, shaking sofas, and rattling pictures, windows and doors in 2018.
In addition to the points raised by residents, and responding to the many complaints she has received year after year, she has asked for:
- no three-day events as they are very wearing and hugely impactful
- more locations to be added to the noise monitoring points as some homes have bounce back from two, sometimes three, directions which makes the noise and thumping even worse
- monitoring to include the low frequencies that cause thumping/vibrations
- policing to be increased inside and outside the festival arena, with festival organisers being charged separately and additionally for policing
- marshaling/stewarding to be consistent at fixed locations and not to change on the whim of a festival organiser
- loos in far greater numbers and more locations within the park to stop public urination and defecation
- traffic and parking disruption to be managed better particularly along Popes Lane
- the complaints phone line to have increased staffing and be available to ring outside event hours
- a complaints email address one email for all festivals as not everyone wants to ring and risk being not answered or cut off
- sound screens to be trialled at the most impactful festivals (usually but not only drum and base music) to assess the extent to which they would reduce impact and bounce back at other festivals
- other sound impact reducing measures such as adjusting brise soleil panels on Chiswick Park buildings, and tree planting at the TfL works site to interrupt the flow of sound to reduce bounce back and flow through
These are in addition to the residents' requests which Cllr Joanna Biddolph supports with enthusiasm:
- lower noise limits, capped at 65dB at noise-sensitive locations as per Pop Code recommendation and Hyde Park BST licence
- fewer event days
- better enforcement as the current licence is too broad to monitor or enforce effectively, and previous complaints and multiple mitigation meetings have not resulted in meaningful improvements.
- independent, real-time noise monitoring with transparent data compiled with residents in mind
- improved policing outside the park
- improved marshaling/stewarding outside the park
- improved clean-up in surrounding streets
- protection of public access and reduced park closures plus less fencing so residents and visitors can enjoy the children's playground, ponds, benches, bins and the open ground used for football, picnicking, etc
- stronger protections for the environment (taking protected bats, hedgehogs, owls etc into consideration) and heritage assets
- proper resident notification of events giving fair access to free tickets instead of the current lottery
- clearer safeguards and bringing conditions in line with those used in other London parks and councils
Cllr Joanna Biddolph wrote to over 90 residents who had contacted her about the unacceptable impact of festivals, providing information on how to respond:
Action from you
As you have expressed concerns about festivals, whether about sound levels, thumping/vibrations, the number of events, anti-social behaviour, being unable to use your garden or open windows or work, young children who can't settle and sleep, litter, damage to the park, being unable to park, the E3 slowed down in reduced traffic lanes, and other reasons, you might like to support the licence review. If so, please:
- email: [email protected]
- use the heading: Application for the review of a Premises Licence - Gunnersbury Park
- state: Say that you support the review
- add a sentence or two, or more if you wish, saying how the festivals affect you
The details of the review are in the documents here - scroll down to Gunnersbury Estate (2026) CIC:
https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/alcohol-premises-licensing/pending-premises-licensing-reviews
Part I
Includes the specific requests, from page 17 to page 20, as well as important background and details of what other councils do.
Part 2
Includes photos of the state of the park after events, residents' decibel reader measurements, fenced off areas, trucks and machinery, Lime bike chaos on pavements.
Part 3
This link is currently not working; I have asked for it to be fixed. It includes more useful data and facts plus the licences for Hyde Park, Finsbury Park, Brockwell Park and the current licence for Gunnersbury Park - to enable comparisons.
Remember the deadline which is fixed: midnight on 9th March.
Please pass this on to others who might like to support this licence review.
