Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
Plan for 100 homes withdrawn
HUNDREDS OF RESIDENTS HAD RAISED CONCERNS
CONTROVERSIAL plans to build 100 homes on the site of a library and old swimming pool in Hillingdon have been withdrawn after hundreds of neighbours complained.
Yiewsley residents raised fears there are not enough services in the village to cope with the homes, that the buildings would be too tall, and that parking problems would get even worse.
Hillingdon Council has now withdrawn the plan to build the homes and new library on the Otterfield Road site, where Yiewsley’s old pool once stood, and on the Falling Lane site which includes Yiewsley Library. The old library would have been bulldozed and replaced under the plans.
The new homes would have been spread across two buildings, one of six storeys and the other of five, with 50 homes in each block.
However, the area is still set for development as the authority plans to submit a new application this autumn. The council intends to use money from the developers to improve the park under the revised plans.
Residents sent in hundreds of objections to the council about the withdrawn scheme, fearing it would cause more traffic and parking problems, that there are not enough GPs or school places to cope, and that antisocial behaviour would increase.
A community group for Yiewsley said in a statement on their website: “We want to have a proper consultation about what goes on the sites. The swimming pool was knocked down in 2011. Waiting a few more months and genuinely engaging with residents about the future of the site will help ensure that the local community’s voice is heard.”
The group has suggested other facilities for the site, including a new wellbeing centre, an eco-centre, a meeting place for young people and landscaped gardens.
Locals were furious when Yiewsley Pool was shut down by the council in 2010, before being bulldozed, and have been campaigning to get a new pool built on the site for years.
Most of Yiewsley Recreation Ground is designated as Metropolitan Open Land, meaning it is covered by protections against development. The council was forced to defend itself from locals’ fears that it was planning to build on the designated land earlier this year. The authority said it does not intend to build on any of the designated land, which includes a football pitch and children’s play area, but does not include the neighbouring Otterfield Road and Falling Lane sites.
Cllr Eddie Lavery, cabinet member for residents’ services at Hillingdon Council, said the authority is still “determined” to build new homes on the site while improving leisure facilities for locals.
He added: “We’ve read and understand some of the concerns residents raised about the original application and have withdrawn it so we can revise and improve it.
“We’ll now make improvements as part of a new application, to ensure we can provide a scheme that is the best possible fit for the local community while still creating more homes for local residents.
“The proposed new development, along with a brand new leisure centre in nearby West Drayton, is an opportunity to bring a revitalised leisure offer to the area and we’re confident when the new proposals are submitted, residents will feel it is something they can support.”