Gunnersbury Park Change of Use Sought for Waterworks Festival
Three-day music event taking place in September
A previous Waterworks Festival in Gunnersbury Park. Picture: Instagram
April 25, 2025
Residents living around Gunnersbury Park should have received a letter informing them of an application for a temporary change of use in Gunnersbury Park for a music festival
Waterworks 2025 is taking place from 12-14 September and the management of the park is seeking permission to use the ‘Old Cricket Pitch’ which at 7.63 hectares makes up around 10% of the park area.
Gunnersbury Estate (2026) CIC, a not-for-profit which manages the park and museum, has submitted the application on behalf of organisers Team Love, Louder, and Percolate.
The festival kicks off on Friday 12 September with “Annie Mac Presents Before Midnight” from 12pm–10:30pm, followed by Waterworks on Saturday and D’n’B Allstars on Sunday. 13,000 tickets will be available for Friday with 15,000 on Saturday and Sunday.
The area will be needed from 1 September for set up and until 19 September for disassembly.
Waterworks has been given similar permissions every year since 2022 and before that Gunnersville was allowed in 2019.
It is argued that the event should be considered acceptable on Metropolitan Open Land as a temporary cultural use with no permanent impact.
The application state that a Sound Management Plan (SMP) in place with strict dB limits and that acoustic data from 2022 event supports low impact. Analysis of previous events suggests that where the noise impact is most greatly felt is largely dependent on prevailing winds.
Lighting and traffic management will be designed to limit disturbance and the use of public transport will be encouraged and the event is car-free except for pre-booked accessible parking.
Money raised from the event will be reinvested into park and museum upkeep.
If you wish to make a comment on the application search for P/2025/1015 on the planning section of the Hounslow Council web site.
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