We have now learnt that Boris Johnson mayor for London has given the go

ahead to Hillingdon council to build on Lake Farm Country Park and

Botwell common. We await the outcome of the secretary of state’s

decision which is expected this week.

I convened a meeting on Saturday 20th April at which local residents

expressed their fury at the Mayor for London’s decision. Boris Johnson’s

decision flies in the face of his earlier commitments to protect the

green belt and his statements opposing school developments on green belt

land.

This is a disgraceful betrayal of our local community by Boris Johnson.

He has broken every promise he gave to us before he was re-elected that

he would protect our green belt. He has also contradicted his recent

statements against building schools on the green belt and using school

developments as an excuse to build on our cherished open spaces. Our

local residents, local councillors and I are committed to campaigning

against the threat to our green belt.

It was also revealed at the public meeting that the council has

submitted a formal proposal to appropriate a much bigger piece of the

Lake Farm and Botwell common than originally planned for the new primary

school. I am really worried now that the council is taking a much larger

proportion of our country park than was first proposed. I fear that they

now have plans to build on another section of the park for a secondary

school. The council starts its consultation on secondary school

expansion in September. It is too much of a coincidence that they now

want to appropriate such a sizeable increase in the land take of our

country park. Consultation on this appropriation of the land ends on the

30th April. No local residents have been written to and only a small

advert has been written in the gazette. I am urging local residents to

write in objecting to this land grab by the council.