Friends of Woodcock Park
About us
We are both the Friends of Woodcock Park, Kenton, Harrow, (London Borough of Brent) and the Brook Way Community Biodiversity Project CIC. We live close to the Kenton Road which runs from Kingsbury to Harrow and has constant traffic including HGVs. Both organisations meet regularly, have constitutions and are supported by Brent Council. We have one primary school and two secondary schools close to the Kenton Road and we have close links with the Kenton Traders Association (KTA). The local community is fully supportive of our efforts to improve the local environment and we represent a diverse range of residents across the age groups. Woodcock Park was a vital health lifeline for a lot of local residents during the Covid-19 lockdowns and was awarded a gold in the Parks Section of the London in Bloom judging in 2021. We have had serious problems with pollution of the Wealdstone Brook this year - this is a river course that runs through Woodcock Park. We are campaigning to make rapid improvements in the water quality and the surrounding areas. Having additional air quality readings and data in the vicinity of the Brook and the Park would help us raise the profile of our campaign and make a contribution to improving the biodiversity in the area and through that the air quality.
“The Friends of Woodcock Park are keen to be involved in the Breathe London Sensor Project because we have a major road – the Kenton Road A4006 – running from Kingsbury to Harrow and close to Woodcock Park, St.Luke’s Hospice, two large secondary schools, St.Gregory’s Catholic Science College and Claremont High School Academy, and several large primary schools including Uxendon Manor Primary School. The Kenton Road, which has seen an increasing number of HGVs using it as a NW London link road, also has a large number of residential properties both along it and close to it. Woodcock Park was used extensively during the Covid-19 pandemic as a vital outdoor recreation resource for local residents. During the spring and summer of 2022 there were serious incidents of sewage pollution in the Wealdstone Brook, which runs through the middle of Woodcock Park, and toxic gases were detected evaporating from the water. The pollution of the water is now being closely monitored and the addition of an air pollution monitor will give us a clear indication of the impact of air pollution on the health of local residents, pupils and students, as well as the trees, bushes, plants and biodiversity in the area.”