The threat to St Mary's Perivale from the Perivale PCZ
We have alarming news and need your urgent help. Ealing Council will introduce an All-day Controlled Parking Zone on Perivale Lane by St Mary's Perivale in March, abolishing free parking for weekday afternoon concerts. This is catastrophic. We have asked them to limit this to the morning - a minor change - so our concerts can continue but to no avail. So the future of our historic concert venue is now in the balance, after 20 years / 1700 concerts, over 1 million views online and a national/international reputation, and it is heart-breaking that this is for petty parking restrictions.
If you have enjoyed our concerts and want us to survive, please write in your own words to object to this cultural vandalism, to : trafficnotices@ealing.gov.uk, with the following heading " P004-26: Objection to Perivale Lane CPZ " and include your land address. I attach below my letter which sets out the problem. (If you have already done so, thank you - there is no need to write again.)
Thank you in advance, and very best wishes. We need your support to survive this crisis.
Hugh Mather
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27/01/2026
To Richard Bohane, Highway Engineer – Parking, Ealing Council
trafficnotices@ealing.gov.uk
P004-26: Objection to Perivale Lane CPZ – The catastrophic impact on St Mary's Perivale
Dear Richard
I am writing on behalf of the Friends of St Mary's Perivale to express our grave concerns about Ealing Council's announcement that it intends to introduce an all-day CPZ along Perivale Lane. This is a major and totally unexpected threat to the very survival of St Mary's Perivale, a historic Grade I-listed building which is now well known in musical circles and has an international reputation for its concerts, bringing much prestige and cultural enrichment to the borough.
St Mary's Perivale holds over 100 events per year, attended by about 5000 people, and our broadcasts are viewed over 100,000 times per year in 70 countries. We were awarded the national Lockdown Star award by the Critics Circle in 2021 for holding 150 concerts in the pandemic. We are self-supporting, with no sponsorship, and we depend entirely on donations we receive from people attending our concerts on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday afternoons. Most of them are elderly and drive to our concerts because of the relative lack of public transport. They park in Perivale Lane outside the church lych gate (opposite the Myllet Arms) and if necessary further up the cul de sac. The current restrictions (Monday to Friday, 9-11am) were introduced in close conjunction with the Council in 2019, and we paid £1200 to the Council for their implementation. These arrangements have worked admirably until now. All this is now under threat.
Notice of the proposed all-day CPZ has just arrived, regrettably without any prior consultation. We are different from the other organizations in Perivale Lane, such as Ealing Golf Club or Hanwell Football Club, which have their own parking facilities, whereas we have none, so it is a particular problem for us. The cul-de-sac at the end of Perivale Lane has effectively served as our parking space, and has no housing so our audience has not impinged on local residents. If the scheme proceeds unaltered, our weekday concerts cannot continue, and this will in turn lead to the closure of St Mary's Perivale as a concert venue. We will not be able to maintain our medieval Grade I listed church and associated graveyard since we have no other source of income. It will decay and the oldest building in Ealing will be destroyed. This is cultural vandalism, and the blame for it will lie with Ealing Council.
However, none of this is necessary if the time period of the CPZ is adjusted slightly, to be 8 am to 12 noon, rather than all-day, thus allowing our afternoon weekday concerts to continue as for the past 20 years, while still deterring cars from taking up permanent residence in the Lane. This simple change would be a lifeline for a much-valued organization. On a personal level, I have been made a Freeman of the Borough of Ealing in recognition of my work at St Mary's Perivale, organizing 1700 concerts over the past 20 years. It is heart-breaking to see this put in jeopardy by parking restrictions. Hence this letter, which I will copy to other interested parties.
With best wishes
Hugh Mather MD FRCP FRCO ARCM
Consultant Physician (retired)
Chairman, Executive Committee,
The Friends of St Mary's Perivale
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