Council Forces Through Plans to Build on Lake Farm and Botwell Common

Last night the Council convened a special Planning Committee at short
notice to force through its plans to build on Lake Farm Country Park and
Botwell Common. The Planning meeting degenerated into near chaos as
information contained in the Council's reports recommending the
development was comprehensively challenged by local residents and local
Labour councillors.

The Councillors heard that there was no need for a new school to be
built on this green belt land as pupil numbers could be catered for in
the new Guru Nanak Free School to be opened later this year in the samee
ward,. In addition a Governor from the new Rosedale Primary School
repeated the Governors' and School Headteacher's offer to expand this
school by a further form to assist in preventing the need to build on
the green belt. It was revealed atht the old Hayes Swimming Pool site
could also accomodate a new 2 form of entry school, thus avoiding the
need to build on Lake Farm and Botwell Common. All this was rejected by
the Conservative councillors on the committee, not one of whom lives in
the Hayes area.

The campaign against this disastrous destruction of our green belt is
now moving on to lobby Boris Johnson to call this planning application
in for him to determine as it flies in the face of his policies to
protect the green belt. I will be joining local residents at 1pm at City
Hall next Tuesday to deliver our letters to him urging him to intervene
to save our park from these local vandal Conservative councillors. Come
and join on Tuesday.