Representation by Painshill Park Trust (Painshill Park Trust)
- Date submitted
- 22 August 2019
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The Hon. Charles Hamilton created Painshill Landscape Garden in the mid-eighteenth century. At the time Painshill was recognised as one of the foremost examples of the only art form in which England has led the world. Visitors came from many countries and included royalty and two future American presidents. After 1939 it suffered thirty years of neglect and vandalism. By 1970 most of the historic buildings had collapsed or disappeared and the landscape was largely covered by scrub. Over the last 35 years Painshill Park Trust, supported by many millions of pounds of public and charitable money, has restored the landscape and buildings. Painshill is once again recognised as a national treasure. It is a Grade 1 listed landscape garden and is one of the very few that has survived largely intact for over 250 years. In late 2017 Highways England published their proposals for changes to Junction 10 of the M25. Their plans were based on information about Painshill that was more than forty years out of date, before the restoration had begun, and would have seriously damaged the landscape. Collaborative discussions with Highways England and their consultants, Atkins, throughout 2018 eventually resulted in satisfactory proposals which minimised damage to Painshill. Throughout these discussions, the Trust received constant assurances that its access onto the A3 at the western end of the park would either be retained or replaced by a separate access track. Most recently at a meeting held on November 15th 2018 it was minuted that “assurances were given that the Trust will be able to use the access road for emergency purposes and for service vehicles working at the western end of the park”. This is crucial because increasing numbers of visitors are using the western end of the park and the final stage of the restoration programme will be concentrating on it. The only alternative access is the route through the staff entrance. It is controlled by speed bumps to protect pedestrians and has a number of gates to be opened. In a recent trial it took a fire tender 15 minutes to reach the Gothic Tower using this route on a day when visitor numbers were light. The Gothic Tower is currently used as a café for visitors but has been used as a residence in the past and is likely to be so again. It has five storeys served by one circular staircase. At a recent meeting with Highways England it was stated that there was no technical reason why the access route could not be extended by 400 meters to the Painshill entrance and that the main reason for not including it in the DCO submission was that time had run out. Last year 120,000 people visited Painshill. This year visitor numbers have increased by about 20% and the Trust has a short-term target to attract 150,000 visitors each year. Visitor safety and the needs of the restoration programme emphasise the importance of a separate access at the west end of the park.