The group battling to save Borehamwood's Woodcock Hill this week said it was on the verge of a decisive victory which would put a stop to any plans to build there.

Woodcock Hill Open Space 4 Ever! (WHOSE!) has applied to the county council for the land, between Barnet Lane and Byron Avenue, to be designated as a Village Green.

If the application is successful the hill, part of which is owned by the housing developer Laing Homes, will be protected from building and kept for residents to enjoy.

WHOSE! claims to have gathered strong evidence to prove that Woodcock Hill has been used, for walking and recreation, by large numbers of people for at least 20 years.

Chair Pat Strack said: "We are confident it will become a Village Green we have got people, going back 60 years, who say it has been used in all that time."

The group, which has signatures from more than 4,000 supporters, applied for Village Green status when the borough council chose to give up its own fight for the hill.

Last month the council decided nine acres of the land should be 'safeguarded' for possible building after 2011, because it faced a costly court case brought by developers.

But Mrs Strack said WHOSE! had hired a solicitor specialising in Green Belt issues, and had sufficient funds to argue its case in court if necessary.

The Open Spaces Society, which is supporting WHOSE! in its bid, said it had been successful in securing Village Green status for pieces of land on several occasions.

The county council is expected to hold a public inquiry, at which WHOSE! and representatives of the landowners would present evidence. The matter could then go to court if either of the parties wanted to challenge the inquiry's decision on a point of law.

Councillor Sandra Parnell, who is a member of WHOSE!, said the hill was a valuable open space, used for recreation by people from a large area of Borehamwood.

"It is Green Belt land forever as far as we are concerned," she said. "It is used by so many people because there is nowhere else like it in this area."

WHOSE! is waiting to hear the county council's response to its application.

August 22, 2002 14:30