An artist's impression of what the 44-hectare park will look like. Image: Vogt
Architecture studio Carmody Groarke has come up with a creative solution to the problem of Rectory Farm – a chunk of unused land sitting in Hounslow, London, close to Heathrow airport.
The 44 hectares of former farmland had been mooted as a site for a possible gravel mine, as it could no longer be used for agriculture and was too small to be viably farmed or, as green-belt land, be built on.
The Heston Residents’ Association had told Get West London in 2015 – after a previous proposal from owners Formal Investments Ltd was rejected – that Rectory Farm had “been plagued by fly-tipping and drug-dealing in recent years.” The proposal was resubmitted at the end of last year.
There were also concerns that a standard gravel mine may cause air pollution, or pools of water that could attract birds that would interfere with the planes coming in and out of Heathrow.
But the current proposal, which was approved by Hounslow councillors on July 6, entails the creation of a park – “the largest public open space in London for over 100 years”, according to the project’s website. And there will also be a quarry operating underneath it, using a ‘top-down’ excavation method.
An artist’s impression of an area of the park. Image: Vogt
Kevin Carmody, from Carmody Groarke summed it up as finding “a way of opening up the site as a public park, while secretly excavating out the valuable gravel below, and make the leftover underground space pay for the project, as well as funding the park in perpetuity?”
Small areas would be fenced off with the topsoil moved, then supportive pillars dug into the ground and a concrete foundation added. With the surface above being transformed into a park, the gravel would be excavated underneath the slab, with the work being staggered across the former farm’s area.
After about 15 years of excavation, working with engineering company Arup, the end result will be the UK’s largest underground space. With about 180,000 square metres created underground it could be used as warehouse or storage area, with the revenue potentially generated being put towards the upkeep of the grounds. It will be the first time an active quarry and park will have co-existed.
As for the park, it’s being designed by landscape architects Vogt, and could be open within a year of the project starting. Eventually it will include walking and cycling tracks, a children’s play area, community gardens, tennis courts, football and cricket pitches, and outdoor amphitheatre and concert pavilion.
The estimated 3 million tonnes of gravel excavated could be used as an aggregate mix in nearby building projects, and the project is predicted to generate 2500 jobs. At this point construction is predicted to begin in 2019, and the park open to the public in 2020.
