Charging for Car Parking at Gunnersbury

The Comunity Interest Company which administers the estate has invited the public’s views about introducing charges for use of the car park. It is asking for responses by Monday 4th November, and has issued a questionnaire which can be completed on-line, or on paper by email request or by visiting the Museum. This is the letter with the details:

“Car Parking At Gunnersbury

We are planning to make changes to the way car parking on the site is managed including introducing car parking charges.

We are proposing to introduce car parking charges by early 2020 to help raise much needed funds for the maintenance and ongoing improvement of the park, museum and its services.  Proactively managing the car parks in this way will also help ensure that the facility is available to visitors to the estate and spaces are not taken up by commuters or unlicensed commercial users.

We, Gunnersbury Estate (2026) CIC – the not for profit organisation that manages Gunnersbury Park and Museum – currently receive funding each year from Ealing and Hounslow councils (who ultimately own the estate).  However, this is currently not enough to fund the entire estate and it is also set to decline substantially over the coming years.

In order to meet the management and maintenance challenges at Gunnersbury, we have a target to raise £2m a year in income by 2022.  Our strategy is to create a broad range of income sources, of which car parking revenue is one, in order to give the estate a firm financial footing.  Other income sources currently include grants, the onsite café, shop, commercial tenants as well as hosting weddings, filming and major public events.  All revenue raised from car parking charges – as with all income generated by the CIC – would be ringfenced to be spent only at Gunnersbury Park and Museum.

With the new sports hub opening soon, we feel that now is the right time to make these changes.  This is in accordance with the timeline recommended within the estate’s masterplan which was adopted by both councils in 2011.

Whilst paying for car parking at other local parks and attractions (Chiswick House and Gardens, Osterley Park and House, Kew Gardens, Marble Hill for example) is very common, we know that introducing car parking charges is a substantial change to the way the estate here has been operated in the past.  Therefore, we are running a consultation to hear our visitors’ thoughts on the proposals and how we could best implement the change.  We have designed a short survey to seek feedback on specific areas as well as offer you the chance to make general comments and suggestions.  The survey is open until 4 November 2019.

To complete the survey online please click https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/D5RWKJF

To complete the survey offline please pop in to the museum or email info@visitgunnersbury.org to request a paper copy.

For full details of our car parking proposals please take a look at our Q&A document.”

The survey is short and asks:

How often do you currently use the car park at Gunnersbury?
If you currently use the car park what do you come here to do?
How long do you typically stay?
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
I support the principle of paying for parking
I understand the reasons behind new charges
I support the introduction of car parking charges
I would visit less often once charges are introduced
I would consider travelling without a car to Gunnersbury

We are considering a parking charge in the region of £1 per hour. How do you feel this compares to similar London locations?
What charging structure would best meet your needs? (hourly, all day, annual)
When paying for parking in other locations, are you comfortable using: (pay by phone, app, card, cash)