Guest article by James Carson of Hillingdon Vision News
As a community and volunteer-run organisation, Hillingdon Vision stands shoulder to shoulder with you—fighting this devastating decision every step of the way. Never before have community groups and charities faced so many brutal cuts across the board. It begs the question: why is it always the organisations that support the most vulnerable who are forced to pay the price? We refuse to accept this. We refuse to be silenced. This is not just about a garden centre—it’s about the heart of our community. And together, we will fight to keep it alive.
From ‘Community Gem’ to extinguished flame – council set to axe social care hub
Hillingdon Council is facing a furious backlash after quietly announcing plans to shut down the Rural Activities Garden Centre (RAGC)—a cherished lifeline for vulnerable adults and volunteers—despite celebrating it just weeks ago in glossy press photos.
The site, located off West Drayton Road, has for decades provided not just flowers and vegetables, but purpose, therapy, skills, and community. Many local residents see it not as a retail space, but as a sanctuary—where those with additional needs flourish in ways that simply aren’t possible in commercial environments.
Council’s own website called it a “hidden gem.” Now it’s on the chopping block
On its very own website, the council boasts of fresh produce grown from seed, a shop filled with home-grown plants and honey, and the therapeutic benefits the centre offers to those who use it.
But while it sings praises in public, behind closed doors, the council has already scheduled a vote to close the site permanently at a private Cabinet meeting on Thursday 26th June, citing last year’s £137,000 operational loss as the reason.
This sudden about-face is being called out for what it is: cynical, cold, and calculated.
Community leaders call for consultation
Cllr Sital Punja, a Labour councillor, also added her voice to the growing outrage:
“Over the past week I have heard from the amazing volunteers past and present, some who have built The Rural Activities Garden Centre with their bare hands. As a customer, I buy my plants there because I know they are planted with love and care. This centre is a lifeline for some of our most vulnerable in our community. There has not been a public consultation and it is unfair of Hillingdon Council to refer to the horticulture social care facility as a commercial venture. That’s not the operating model. I would urge Cllr Lavery and other decision makers to hold an independent public consultation with a full equality impact assessment before any decision is made.”
Council claims “support” while stripping services from the most vulnerable
In place of this purpose-built haven, the council proposes moving volunteers to the Civic Centre in Uxbridge, where they’ll tend small patches of greenery surrounding the building. The same Civic Centre that feels more prison than park.
Let’s be honest: this isn’t a “redeployment.” It’s a downgrade in dignity. The tranquil, tailored, therapeutic environment of RAGC is being tossed aside for municipal window-dressing. And it’s the people with the most to lose—those with disabilities and complex needs—who are paying the price.
Council hypocrisy laid bare – photos one week, closure plans the next
Perhaps the most offensive twist in this saga? Cllr Eddie Lavery, the Cabinet Member now leading the charge to shut the centre down, was just a few years ago posing for smiling press photos promoting the very same site.
He clapped for the chickens, beamed beside the sunflowers, and applauded the volunteers. But now, in a statement posted only to the council’s website (not delivered at the meeting), he says the council simply can’t afford to keep the centre going.
Let’s call this what it is: two-faced PR at its worst.
“We cannot expect our residents to subsidise a loss-making retail venture,” Lavery says—ignoring the fact that this “retail venture” exists to support some of the borough’s most disadvantaged people.
Silence in the chamber – noNE OF THE OFFICER TEAM dared speak up
When questions were raised about the closure at the recent council petition hearing officers were asked if any had further comments to add, not one of the four Council’s Directors of Service responded. Not a word.
All statements were pre-scripted, posted online, and carefully distanced from the real emotion felt in the room. Hillingdon Vision made multiple requests for additional comments—all were ignored.
The message is clear: the council wants this done quietly. But the community refuses to stay silent.
Is this about cost-cutting—or cashing in?
Sources and observers are increasingly asking whether this sudden closure is less about savings—and more about selling off valuable land.
With RAGC located on a prime corner of West Drayton Road, the value of the land has not gone unnoticed. With Hillingdon under pressure from national housing targets, soaring demand for services, and a rising number of asylum seekers needing support, some are speculating that the garden centre’s closure could free up land for future development.
It would not be the first time vulnerable people lost out due to backroom budget manoeuvring and central government shortfalls.
The real cost isn’t £137,000. It’s dignity. It’s hope. It’s human lives.
For those who’ve worked at RAGC—for free, with pride—this isn’t just the loss of a job. It’s the loss of routine, stability, purpose, and community. You cannot put a price on confidence restored or loneliness cured through soil and sunlight. But if you could, it would be worth far more than £137,000.
And for a council that wasted millions on failed contracts and vanity projects, claiming this closure is about “value for money” is not just misleading—it’s insulting.
Community response: “This is a disgrace.”
Local residents, staff, and volunteers are already rallying. A petition is expected. Protests are brewing. Calls for transparency are growing louder.
And as for the council? It continues to hide behind empty statements and unreturned emails.
But one thing is certain: this fight is far from over.
Make no mistake: this is a test of Hillingdon’s values.
The council can still change course. But time is short.
If you believe in protecting inclusive community spaces—not paving them over in the name of political expediency or covering up budget mismanagement—speak out.
Because when we start closing places that help the most vulnerable, we’re not just losing services. We’re losing our humanity.
✊ Stand with the Rural Activities Garden Centre. Tell Hillingdon Council: Not in our name. Not on our watch.
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