What's the story?

In the heart of North Kensington, Athlone Gardens was, until 2010, a beloved urban park with more than 73 mature trees, beautiful shrubs, lawns, flower beds, rest and play areas, shelter, an open-air ball court, birds, and abundant wildlife – all gone!

Today, Athlone Gardens is a dismal patch of ground – a dustbowl in Summer and a mud-bath in Winter – with poor facilities and only 5 mature trees.

Delivery of the completed park was originally scheduled for 2016. The developers’ latest estimated delivery date is Spring 2030. A child born in 2010 will not experience the benefits of a proper local park until sometime after their 20th birthday. 

Meanwhile, 500 additional homes will bring approximately 1,500 additional residents to Wornington Green – doubling the local population and doubling demands on the park!

The benefits of local parks for physical and mental health, air quality, air temperature reduction, flooding mitigation, biodiversity, community building, and crime and anti-social behaviour reduction are immense.

We call on RBKC to urgently bring forward delivery of Athlone Gardens and ensure:

• Completion of Athlone Gardens by Autumn 2024
• Meaningful community co-design of the park, planting, and associated amenities.
• Planting of – at minimum – 80 trees in the park, in consultation with residents.
• Improved drainage and infrastructure.
• Planting of – at minimum – 100 large trees on streets surrounding the park.
• Provision of substantial public amenity green space in the local area – additional to the park.
• Roads surrounding the park designated and designed as shared streets.

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