Village green 'trump card'

29 July 2010

Campaigners are banking on a village green application as their trump card in a battle to keep developers off a nine acre site in Harold Hill.

The application, submitted by former councillor Dennis Cook last Friday, hopes to prove the site next to Central Park has been used by residents as a village green for the last 20 years; making it out-of-bounds to developers.

It's a direct challenge to Havering Council's plans to sell the land to developers to build 250 new homes. The plan is part of the council's Ambitions regeneration project.

The site, between Petersfield Avenue and Gooshays Drive, is home to the Albemarle Youth House, two junior football pitches, two tennis courts and an archery training ground.

Dennis, of Dagnam Park Drive, said: "At the Harold Hill fair on the weekend I asked people whether they'd used the park in the past and lots of people had - for cycling, rounders or walking their dog.

"If common sense prevails this application will be successful.

"This is open space, parkland, and there's little enough on Harold Hill as there is. We'll have none left if we keep going like this."

Dennis' application follows an earlier petition which had more than 1,000 signatures against the proposal.

Labour leader Cllr Keith Darvill also tabled a motion against the proposed sell-off, which was unsuccessful at a full council meeting earlier this year.

He said this week: "Based on the evidence we can see I'm very confident this application for a village green will be successful.

"We're prepared to battle it all the way."

However deputy leader of the council, Cllr Steven Kelly, who has overseen the plan, has argued that residents will have the new and improved 40 acre Central Park to cater for their recreational needs.

He said: "This is part of our Ambitions plan and part of that is about getting people into nice homes and off waiting lists.

"At the moment this parkland isn't being used other than by the Abermarle Youth Centre.

"But we're going to be spending £2million upgrading Central Park - which will include a new youth hall, community hall and PCT unit. The football pitches will almost certainly be replaced at Broxhill.

"We've consulted very thoroughly with the people of Harold Hill on this and we think we've got a consensus.