We are a very small group of dog owners and local residents who regularly walk in Chiswick House grounds and who have become much concerned about the plans to restrict dog walking areas in the park. The plans are contained within the overall plan submitted for lottery funding for the redevelopment of Chiswick House and grounds. We are now anxious to create a formal group of like minded dog owners who believe that the current plans for off-lead dog walking areas remain unacceptable and that dog owners now need to form an organised lobby to ensure that a satisfactory compromise is reached with Chiswick House and Gardens Trust.
CHOW will NOT be involved in any aspect of the proposed changes to Chiswick House grounds that do not directly affect dog walk areas nor does this forum of concerned dog walkers have any connection with any other lobby.
This web site contains a map of Chiswick House Grounds. Map "A" is the original plan created by the Chiswick House Gardens Trust. As you will see, nearly every inch of open space always used as off-lead walking areas for the last twenty years is proposed to be lead only dog areas. Free roam areas are restricted entirely to the white areas of the map which just happen to be undergrowth, uncultivated bushes and trees – the very areas where neither dogs nor their owners can enjoy a proper walk. We find it difficult to believe that anyone who owns a dog could have created these proposals.
We are not fanatical dog owners, we are not political, we are just ordinary people who fully enjoy Chiswick House grounds and want to continue walking their pets there as before. We recognise there will need to be some compromise on our part (for example, we feel our dogs should be kept separate from specified summer picnic areas close to the water; and that they do not run onto the cricket pitch when play is taking place), and we are keen to promote responsible use of the grounds by dog walkers e.g. to ensure a minimum of dog fouling by suggesting the installation of free dog-poop bags and signs encouraging dog walkers to stick to basic hygiene rules for their pets.
We need the support of all Chiswick and area dog walkers in our campaign; we need to have a public meeting, we need to find people who will join a committee and volunteer to work for it, we need to fine-focus the issue in such a way that there is no repetition of the chaotic consultation processes held so far which allocate a minimum of time to discuss what affects the greatest number of users of Chiswick House Grounds and is a very important issue in the proposed work. The dog walking issue cannot, and must not be relegated in this way. Above all, we need to know that we have the support of dog walkers and that we can truly say we represent their interests.
To that end, if you are in broad agreement with our aims and our strategy would you please click your mouse on the “Contact Us” button and give us your name, e mail address and mobile phone numbers. Also we assume that if you are not part of a committee you will be prepared to delegate authority to act in your name once the committee has been formed.
Once you have registered, could you also tick the box marked Volunteer if you are prepared to do volunteer work for us.
This website is not a forum for discussion – it exists purely to keep everyone in touch and to register support.
"A well attended and positive CHOW meeting took place on Wednesday evening 28 March 2007. CHOW received a unanimous mandate from the attendees to continue its course of action. George Nissen, a Chiswick House Trust trustee and Chairman of Chiswick House Friends, who was present in the audience confirmed that there will be further negotiations with CHOW which we hope will achieve CHOW's stated objective: enshrining dog walker's rights in the written proposal to the Lottery Commission."
Only apathy can now prevent us from ensuring that we continue to enjoy the charms of Chiswick House Grounds for ourselves and our pets.
CHOW group currently consists only of a tiny handful of members. Although our costs remain low, we would gratefully welcome voluntary donations to cover such administrative costs as the creation of this website, printing of flyers, hiring of meeting hall etc.
Click here to view a map of the Plans
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