Weed farm discovered on the Gunnersbury Park Garden estate

163 – 165 Gunnersbury Lane

163 – 165 Gunnersbury Lane have been empty for over a year as the owner applies for planning permission to change them into flats

The owner of two neighbouring properties in the Gunnersbury Park Garden estate has discovered an illegal weed farm in the empty houses.

Declan Kelly bought 163 – 165 Gunnersbury Lane in November 2024 with the intention of converting the two adjacent houses into seven flats but the planning process has taken so long that they have remained empty until now.

He has been concerned about squatters because the property has been vacant for a year and four months.

“We boarded up the ground floor windows from inside. Someone climbed up onto the roof and smashed a wind to gain entry. We boarded that up. They then got a ladder and smashed another 1st floor window.

“Then last weekend my workers were dropping off some tools and they couldn’t get in the front door. It was locked from inside. On Friday morning we gained entry thinking we would be dealing with squatters. However once inside we noticed water hoses and power cables going up the stairs”, he told The Chiswick Calendar.

Meters illegally bypassed; cable running upstairs; windows blacked out with material

He could see straight away that the electricity meters had been illegally bypassed. As he went up the stairs, he noticed it was dark, as the windows had been blacked out with sheets of material. He then discovered the whole of the first and second floors had been turned into an illegal cannabis farm.

He immediately rang the Police, who told him there were 220 plants covering the area of about 180 square feet, which represented a crop worth about a quarter of a million pounds.

Cannabis plants growing in the upstairs rooms of 163 – 165 Gunnersbury Lane

“I was last on the site on 16 December”, he told me. “I’ve driven around the back since then and checked everything was closed, but I suppose I can’t have looked up as I didn’t notice the blacked-out windows.

“The plants were big – about six feet tall. I Googled it and apparently it takes about eight weeks to get a harvest, so it was pretty bold of them”.

The houses have now been taped off as a crime scene and Declan expects to hear about his amended planning application on 9 March.

He has had two planning applications turned down previously, for different reasons. The large dormer on the back of the building was added in the 1970s before planning permission was required and he maintains what he is proposing is much more attractive and more in keeping with the area.

CGI of how Declan would like to convert the two houses

Read more stories on The Chiswick Calendar