Residents Launch Bid to Protect Old Station House
Starting process of designating it an Asset of Community Value
Grove Park residents gather to support the site remaining as a pub. Picture:GPG
October 24, 2026
Residents campaigning to save The Old Station House in Grove Park from conversion into residential flats are launching a formal bid to have the 156-year-old pub designated an Asset of Community Value (ACV).
The Grove Park Group (GPG) is asking local people to sign its nomination in the hope that the designation will help protect the building’s community use. The move follows a rally outside the pub last Saturday (17 October), attended by more than 125 residents, according to the group.
The campaign has attracted cross-party support, with Hammersmith and Chiswick Labour MP Andy Slaughter joining local Conservative councillors at the gathering.
An ACV designation under the Localism Act 2011 recognises a building’s importance to the local community. It can give the community additional rights if the property is put up for sale, including a period in which a community group can organise a bid. It does not, however, automatically prevent a sale or guarantee that a pub will remain open.
The nomination comes as Hounslow Council considers planning application P/2026/2100, which seeks to change the use of the Old Station House from a public house to residential dwellings.
The pub’s previous planning permission, P/2020/3154, allowed residential conversion of the upper floors on the specific basis that the ground floor would remain in active pub use. The GPG argues that the latest proposal threatens the loss of a longstanding neighbourhood gathering place.
The group is also challenging claims that the pub is no longer commercially viable. It says any assertion that there is no realistic prospect of continued pub use should be tested against evidence of sustained marketing at realistic rental levels. The campaigners say they want to help the freeholder and its agents identify independent operators who could run the pub, including potential tenants they believe have not yet been meaningfully approached.
Before the pandemic, the Old Station House regularly hosted live music, open-mic nights and sports screenings. The group says the building has been a landmark on the railway approach to Grove Park since 1867.
Hugh McNeill, treasurer of the Grove Park Group and chair of its Station House Working Group subcommittee, said the turnout at Saturday’s rally showed the strength of local feeling.
“Once this pub is lost to residential flats, it’s gone for good,” he said, calling on residents to support the ACV nomination. He added that the campaign wanted to work constructively with the freeholder to connect the property with viable hospitality operators.
Graham Holley, chair of the Grove Park Group, said the association, established in 1970, wanted to support a viable commercial future for the building while respecting the owner’s investment and the community’s need for a gathering space.
Residents can sign the ACV support schedule and find information about making representations on the planning application here.
Supporters of the campaign to save the pub included local MP Andy Slaughter. Picture: GPG
The council’s decision on the planning application and the outcome of the ACV nomination are separate processes. The group is urging residents to support the nomination as part of its wider campaign to retain the pub for community use.
To make comments on the proposal visit the planning section of the Hounslow Council web site and search using reference P/2026/2100.
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