The public have their say on proposed park

Rectory Farm

The consultations were attended by people from all walks of life and we were delighted with the level of interest in the project.

Local residents were invited to have their say at Heston Community Centre last Tuesday (18 Sept), Cranford Community College on Wednesday (19th) and Treaty Centre on Friday (20th) and Saturday (21st).

Hundreds of people expressed their views on the proposals that would see the 110 acre site turned into a park for public use as part of an innovative scheme to extract gravel from beneath the park surface.

Under the proposals the redundant farmland would be turned over to public use within a year of being granted planning permission. Small sections would then secured in preparation for the gravel to be removed from beneath the surface before being landscaped and returned to public use.

The space created below the surface when the gravel has been removed will be converted into large units for warehousing or storage bringing inward investment and creating new jobs.

Richard Jones, Project Manager, said: “The consultations were attended by people from all walks of life and we were delighted with the level of interest in the project. There were some concerns expressed about traffic and access to the site which I think we were able to answer satisfactorily, however some good points were made and we are looking at how to incorporate those points to improve the proposal”.

The public were asked what they would like to see in the park, there was tremendous support for sports pitches, a children’s play area, dog area, exercise trail and cycle paths listed on the questionnaire but there were some also some interesting suggestions like, a wild flower meadow, quiet gardens, allotments and public art.

Further public consultation events will be announced for November in the meantime people can find out more and complete a questionnaire on line at www.rectory-farm.com