Gedling Borough Council’s Cabinet has today voted against the proposed sale of the former bowling green on Haywood Road.
In response to the government cuts in Gedling’s funding amounting to some 62%, officers had proposed the sale of the former bowling green to generate much needed money and new homes.
The proposal had, however, generated significant local interest and, in particular, residents made the case for opening up the bowling green for use by the whole community.
Campaign group Save Haywood Road Green who led the battle to save the land from developers today praised the decision by the Cabinet to keep the land for community use.
Campaign spokesman Paul Drury told Gedling Eye: “Everyone involved in the Save Haywood Road Green campaign is absolutely delighted that this little patch of green space will now become a park which all of our community can enjoy for years to come.
“A huge thank you to everyone who supported the campaign and huge credit to John Clarke and his fellow councillors for listening and doing the right thing. All of us at the Haywood Road Community Association look forward to working with them to create a fantastic space for young and old.”
Leader of the Council, Cllr John Clarke, said: “This has been a really tough decision as we try to balance genuine concerns of residents with the urgent need for new homes and money from sales of our assets.
“As a Council we consistently said that we’d listen and take account of residents’ views before reaching a decision and this is what we’ve done.
“The bowling green will not be sold but kept in the Council’s ownership and transformed into open space that the whole community can use and enjoy.”
Hurray!