Community action saves Common

Local residents have successfully overturned plans to create a commercial football facility on much-loved communal space on Tooting Common.

Developers planned to to enclose the existing football pitch on the Tooting Common Triangle and build five pay-to-play astroturf pitches. The proposal was originally approved by Wandsworth Council during the Covid-19 lockdown.

But residents fought back. Over 10,000 people signed protest petitions, and there were 1,000 official objections. The proposal went to a Public Inquiry which led to a ruling against the plans on 30 November.

Over 50 people gave evidence at the inquiry, including Alice Roberts, the head of Green Space Campaigns at CPRE London. Residents put their case without legal representation, while the developer was represented by a leading QC and experienced council planning officers.

After almost six months of deliberation, Inspector Richard Perrins ruled the development would be an ‘alien feature in the landscape’ which would prevent informal recreation. He agreed that the existing site was ‘a much-needed and well-used communal, informal recreation playground and social space’.

He said: ‘The development would introduce a great deal of noise and disturbance across a wider area of the common, and prevent a large number of existing users of the common from using it in the way that they are used to’.

Fencing would seal off parts of the common which are open today, he said. He added the site had ‘an almost village green like ambience’ and the new elements ‘would not be consistent with the more natural and open surrounding landscape.’

Local organiser, Ben Jackson, began the campaign after delivering fliers to local homes. He oversaw the residents’ case, and said: ‘This has been a David v Goliath battle from start to finish, with dozens of residents working together over three years through times when we had very little help or support about how to manage the process, and little hope of a positive outcome. It makes this win so rewarding for everyone.

‘It’s a victory that preserves the important principle of retaining access for all to Tooting Common and on other commons, and preserves the unique quality of commons as places that serve everyone.’

Jeremy Clyne, who represented the Open Spaces Society, commented: ‘This proposal was so out of place and damaging that I was personally hopeful of a successful outcome. However, we were up against the council and all its resources, represented by a top barrister. The decision is a huge relief for the local community.

‘I hope that in future Wandsworth Council will be more sensitive to local views and take account of how people on both sides of the borough boundary use and enjoy this and other vital open space.’

In a statement on Twitter, developer TFC Leisure, who run football and sports facilities said it would now drop its interest in the project. Local users, the community, special interest groups and the council are now expected to make plans to revitalise the area.