Don't Sell Off Our Parks!

9.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 11th Nov 2005

Lib Dem Councillors have challenged the Labour-run Council's piece-meal sell-off of public open spaces in Tower Hamlets.

The Furze Street Area Development Brief, agreed at the Cabinet meeting in October, outlines the plan to sell the 'temporary' open space in the Furze Street area for development use.

Lib Dem councillors challenged the decision and demanded that Cabinet listen to local protests and reconsider the plan.

Sadly, at its meeting on Wednesday the Labour Cabinet confirmed their intention to sell the land to developers.

Spearheading the challenge, Councillor John Griffiths advised Labour that our overcrowded borough is being asked to provide more homes and spaces for development at the expense of our already limited open spaces. Tower Hamlets has only 1.2 hectares of open space per thousand population, half the accepted national standard.

Cllr Griffiths, Ward Member for Bethnal Green, argued that the council is selling off public open space in a piece-meal fashion. He noted that whilst this was a small parcel of land, it is part of a wider trend of building on our green spaces. He cited plans for a development on Weavers Fields as an example.

Cllr Griffiths said, "Once the land is sold to a developer it is lost to the community forever. The Liberal Democrat policy is to protect our open spaces. We need more open space not less. Sadly, tonight we lost a rare opportunity to make the 'temporary' open space a place for both ourselves and future generations to enjoy."