MoS victory as councils cave in over green space

THE Mail on Sunday’s Save Our Parks campaign has scored a double victory after two local authorities scrapped plans to axe green spaces.

A proposal to pave over a park and turn it into a car park for council staff in Loughton, Essex, has been dropped after a backlash from residents.

Campaigners are also toasting victory in Devon after residents ‘killed off’ a council’s plans to build houses on their village green in Westward Ho! Both schemes were featured in our campaign to save thousands of parks under threat from council cutbacks and developers.

Councillors performed a U-turn on a £300,000 taxpayer-funded plan to build a council car park on Marlescroft Way Green in Loughton just days after our report last week.

Epping Forest Council member Syd Stavrou said: ‘I feel we have to listen to local people. I have listened and decided the potential benefits of this car park don’t sufficiently outweigh the objections.’

Ada Sula, 37, a mother of two who lives near the green, said it was a ‘victory for common sense’.

In Devon, campaigners said our coverage had played ‘a totally crucial role’ in stopping ten houses from being built on a park in Westward Ho! We first reported on the plans in October, forcing councillors to send the project back to the drawing board. Last week, Torridge District Council finally ditched the scheme.