Residents facing final defeat in village green battle (From Watford Observer)

Chorleywood residents facing final defeat in village green battle

4:00pm Tuesday 9th November 2010 in News By Neil Skinner

A residents’ campaign to save a popular area of grassland from development has received another blow, with the news that councillors are considering selling it.

The Paddock, adjacent to Arnett Hills School, in Berry Lane, could be sold by owners Three Rivers District Council to private developers.

Neighbouring residents have recently lost a five year planning battle to win village green status for the land – an award that would have made future development on the site impossible.

Hertfordshire County Council, however, rejected the application earlier in the year. The district council is now considering selling the land to raise money.

Members of the council’s resources, policy and scrutiny committee will meet on Thursday to discuss the sale of land, between Highfield Way and Arnett Close, and two other areas of land: in Romilly Drive, Carpenders Park, and a former allotment site at Woodhall Lane, South Oxhey.

Press and public will not be allowed to attend the meeting as members will be discussing the potential sale value of all the areas of land.

Barbara Dickens, of Upper Hill Drive, helped organise the village green campaign. She said: “I am very disappointed that it is going to be sold. In this economic climate, in order to make any money out of it, they will really have to squash them [ the houses] into that space. I understand why they would want to sell it on but what we fear is gross overdevelopment on the site.

“Children had played on it for years; they had camped on it and used of for a lot of leisure activities. The inspector accepted all that at the public inquiry. It was suggested that we had a good chance of winning if we took it to a judicial review but we can’t afford to do that.”