Forum Topic

Southfield Playing Fields

The idea of extending the already large children's playground in Southfield Playing Fields is barking.  With most of the park turned over to football on a Sunday and often at other times too, two large tennis courts, a lot of gym equipment and very long uncut grass and nettle-filled 'wild' areas taking up most of the park there are too few places to walk and picnic in a pretty small park already.  I have taken photos on consecutive days at various times of the day  over the last week at various times of the day and evening and there has never been more than 4-5 children and parents in the existing playground which apart from maybe a couple of hours after school on hot days during the summer is very under-used.    Has the council actually been to see it?  I wrote to them and they said the extension is for 'planned population growth'.  Where are the additional people going to come from?  There is no space to build more housing and parents with children aren't going to come from miles away to a small park when 5 minutes up the road Acton Park has all the facilities that could be desired.  They put our council tax up to waste it on hare-brained, pointless schemes like this.  Why not water fountains so people don't need to bring plastic bottles (usually left behind) in the park, or gates onto Southfield Road so dogs and foxes can't easily run across and cause traffic accidents that I have seen numerous times.  It is stark staring bonkers.

Claire Moran ● 2910d10 Comments

Mark, I know children tend to play cricket and rounders in the large space but all ages like the smaller area, away from the football pitches, dog walkers and high activity of the larger area.

Jerry Byrne ● 2905d

Seems like a good use of the space to me. People tend not to play games with their children like rounders or cricket in that area because it is close to the junction of two paths. There will still be plenty of space to the east. The park is very big for a residential area and is never close to crowded on even the sunniest of days so complaining about loss of space doesn't make any sense. That said the changes don't seem to have been handled very well. Not taking steps to ensure people were aware of the plans is just giving an excuse for objections.

Mark Evans ● 2906d

I only knew about it when I saw a small notice on the railings of the park.  After quite a while I got a response to my message from Robert Draper asking why they are extending it when apart from a few hours on a few warm days a year in the school holidays it is barely used  - I have taken photos at different times of the day for 10 consecutive days apart from the day when there was heavy rain and there has never been more than 0-5 people in it including children at any time - happy to send the photos to whoever wants to see them.  Whoever proposed this is not a frequent user of the playing fields and it is a case of a ward forum having too much cash that it doesn't know what to do with.  It would be better spent on drinking fountains, so people don't need to take plastic bottles to the park, and in the case of Southfield, gating the gaps in the railings onto Southfield Road where dogs and foxes run across - there will be a serious accident there one day. The response of Robert Draper from Ealing council is as follows - perhaps other people should write to him, although in my experience if the ward councillors have decided to do something they don't care if the rest of the forum is against it.  As I said, I have no idea where he thinks this population explosion is coming from - as per the newsletter, new flats in Acton are not selling, and anyway residents there would use Acton Park, and the only possible nearby development anywhere near Southfield Playing Fields is for a few flats on the old Carlton Road Day Centre which Ealing Council decided wasn't necessary - who cares about the elderly and disabled, after all, eh?  Response is as follows:-From: Robert Draper [DraperR@ealing.gov.uk]Sent: Monday, April 30, 2018 10:27 AMTo: Claire MoranSubject: RE: Proposed Extension of Children's Play Area in Southfield ParkDear ClaireThank you for your email.The project was the idea of the  local residents association. the project is being supported by the local ward forum.  The play area gets extremely busy at certain time periods and extending the area will allow additional children and families to enjoy the space and will also future proof the site allowing for a growing population. The extended area is being designed sympathetically and will be more natural than the existing  play facilities. The use of stepping stones and natural surfaces will help blend the area into the site. Additionally a picnic table will also be included. The grass mounds will be low without obstructing any views and will create additional play opportunities.There will still be a large unfenced area for people to play informal games and the new fence line has been carefully selected to leave enough room for other activities.I can confirm no trees will be removed or damaged during the works.Please let me know if you would like any further informationThank youKind regardsRobert

Claire Moran ● 2907d

The facilities in Acton Park for older children are pretty good also in the pipeline is the new skate park. The trampoline could also be located nearby in the same area. Southfield Park needs to be protected. Developers trying to improve their image by splashing cash around should not be allowed.

Jerry Byrne ● 2908d

Hi,The first I heard of anyone addressing this matter was Claire Moran's recent post. Maybe Claire will know more.

Jerry Byrne ● 2908d

Here is what council spokesperson said according to ActonW3 article“The idea for this project came from the local residents’ association and the project is being supported by the Ward Forum. We have carried out a poster consultation rather than a larger scale consultation as it’s a small project which was also publicised through the residents’ association and Ward Forum. We use this method of consultation for small scale projects like this where we are adding to an existing facility.”Were there discussions about it here during the consultation?

Paul Webster ● 2909d

I agree with Claire that the extension of the playing area is going to take away even more of the green space that anyone can use for their enjoyment. It looks like they are going to rail off the whole area almost up to the footpath. It looks like any oasis of green in the park is being slowly eroded away bit by bit. We are very lucky to have such a nice green space locally and I feel that this is a step too far. There is most of the proposed facilities available in Acton Park which is just a stone throw away and as for the trampoline I am surprised health and safety does not feature. Trampolines tend to bring lots of noise and screaming and will also attract people that should not be there . Maybe there is still time to petition to our local councillors. We need to protect our peaceful green space not constantly feel it must be utilised by building over.

Jerry Byrne ● 2909d

Not according to the photos I have taken and observations over many, many years and months. When I walked the dogs at 4.30 pm, 6.30 pm and just now no more than one or people there. Sometimes busy = a for couple of hoursin a day for maybe 14 days a year.  Not worth taking away a big area of a small park permanently, where families including small children play rounders and cricket in the area between the existing railings and the footpath that they are planning to enclose, from users including me who use the park several times a day just about every day of the year. Spending taxpayer money on this shows our council really is in lala land.

Claire Moran ● 2910d

I'm delighted it's being made bigger.  There's nothing much there at all for older children. We often pop in on the way to/from Chiswick and spend lots of time there after school in the spring and summer. Since the new Ark school opened it does get quite busy sometimes.

Apple Leiper ● 2910d

Hi Claire I believe most of these schemes are developer funded and part of the 'deal'  to get planning permission is to donate to the local area.  At least this is my impression.  Lots of new builds = lots of cementing over parkland and green spaces as far as I can see.

Jack Cloake ● 2910d