Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson Lynne Featherstone joined a march and addressed the rally to save a vital open space in Wood Green.

Ms Featherstone says that plans to turn part of White Hart Lane recreation grounds into an all weather pitch, which appears to have the backing of the Labour council with the Labour Lead Member for Education and school governor at the applicant school in favour, would amount to a serious loss of green space for people in the area.

St Thomas Moore School has applied to annex half of the green space to space to create their own all weather pitch. Ms Featherstone says the plan is unnecessary. She says that the site is very near the New River Sport Centre and the obvious solution would be to enhance and improve New River so that more local schools could use it. The community could benefit from a state of the art sports facility.

Ms Featherstone also adds that the situation is complicated by the Government’s and London Mayor’s agenda to cram more and more housing into Haringey.

Ms Featherstone informed the rally that there is a major planning application is being considered for a significant new housing scheme on New River site. She also cited the Government’s pressure on schools to have facilities that they can then make money from hiring back to the community – in this case the community they will have taken the land from.

Commenting Ms Featherstone said:

“It is quite clear that this is a land grab by Labour to take open space from local people in response to their national and regional agenda. This is vital green space for the local community and must remain so.”