Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, has welcomed the decision by Barnet Council to turn down a planning application to build a caravan park on green belt land next to Mays Lane.
This is a field currently used for grazing horses and over a thousand people objected to the proposal to convert into a site for residential use by caravans. Theresa has long campaigned to protect the green belt in Barnet and fully backed the campaign to ensure that green belt protections were applied.
Following the announcement that the application had been rejected, Theresa said, “Protecting the green belt has always been one of my top priorities as MP for Barnet. These special planning rules for green spaces around cities perform a vital function of preventing urban sprawl. Only recently, was able to persuade Communities Secretary, Michael Gove, to reaffirm and strengthen safeguards for the green belt.”
“It is great to see them applied here. Barnet Council have done the right right thing by rejecting this application. It would have violated longstanding planning principles and set a disastrous precedent. Well done to the residents who worked hard to see if this proposal.”
“But this is not the end of the story. There is always the risk of an appeal or a revised application for the site. And there is other land around Mays Lane which is under threat too. So the campaign to protect the green belt will continue. I believe this will be a significant election issue because Labour say they want to build on the green belt. I will strongly oppose this.”
