CARA seeks local help in saving Twyford sports ground
Twyford Avenue Sports Ground Under Threat - CARA's Response to Ealing Council's LDF ProposalsAs you may be aware, the developers who own a 4 acre section at the east side of Twyford Sports Ground have been discussing with the Council a possible outline planning application for the site. This topic has been so important to us that for some years now we have had a separate steering group dedicated to the Sports Ground, reporting to the CARA executive committee. At the moment, the site is designated as Community Open Space and therefore inappropriate for development; although this does not guarantee it will not be developed, it is meant to be protected by a document called SPD 6. However the Council is also going through the process of updating its long-term development strategy called the Local Development Framework, and in the latest proposals of this LDF a number of protections that would make development of the site more difficult have been suddenly and signficantly weakened despite CARA's representations for over a decade. CARA has always been suspicious that Ealing Council would do something like this. On one hand they reassure us that the ground is protected from development, but now we see all the previous statements of protection apart from just one - the supposedly rock-solid SPD 6 - are gone. A cynic would say it looks like the Council have always had a hidden agenda - hidden from CARA, at any rate, though clearly not hidden from the developers - and I have a healthy amount of cynicism. Now, the deadline for responses to the Council against these proposals is this Tuesday 30 November. CARA is responding formally with our objections, and the link to our response is at the top of our website. However, in order to maximise support from local residents to protect the Sports Ground from development, WE NEED YOUR HELP FOR JUST 1 MORE MINUTE: Please email the council at planpol@ealing.gov.uk with the following message before Tuesday:----------Dear Planning DepartmentRe: LDF Development Strategy - final proposalsI am an Ealing resident and writing to object to Proposal 5.6 of the LDF document referred to above, which I consider to be unsound as it does not provide sufficient protection for the Twyford Avenue Sports Ground (TASG). This area is currently designated as Community Open Space and the subject of SPD 6 which seeks to protect and enhance access to the area.Although Proposal 5.6 states that the council will seek to "protect and promote... active recreation areas in the borough", unlike the current UDP and earlier drafts of the LDF it makes no reference to Community Open Space or SPD 6. Crucially, it does not include TASG on the list of strategic sports sites set out on page 61 of the final proposals.I believe that Proposal 5.6 should be amended to correct these failings and ensure that TASG is properly protected in accordance with the overall aspirations of the final proposals.Yours sincerely----------Please note that you need to include your full name and address at the foot of the email. Feel free to forward this to any non-CARA local residents who you think may be interested and able to do the same.Visit the CARA website to read our response to the LDF regarding the protection of Twyford Avenue Sports Ground.Visit the Save Ealing's Centre website for their response to the LDF as a whole.Creffield Area Residents' Association
Sara Nathan ● 5773d6 Comments