The WHOSE! (Woodcock Hill Open Space 4eva!) committee met for the first time since receiving the inspector's report summary on April 16 (Campaign stops development of Woodcock Hill', April 11).
We unanimously agreed to send a big thank you to all who supported us over the 12 years of the campaign.
A particular thank you to Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council for its generous donation of £10,000 and the Elstree and Borehamwood Green Belt Society's £3,000.
But thank you, too, to all who sent donations from £1 pocket money to £1,000. We reached our target of £25,000.
It was truly a community effort. Without the encouraging letters and phone calls over the years, we could well have given up and decided it was beyond us to fight in a big -money arena. We had support for all the functions (BBQs, duck race, charity car boot sales etc) as we raised money to pay for legal advice and representation at each stage of the campaign.
The inspectors' recommendation that most of the land be registered as village green, shows how strong the evidence, both verbal and written, was that the land had been used "as of right" from 1984 to 2004. We, of course, had evidence that it was used well before 1984.
All this shows that lots of people working together can have an effect. We have not quite got there yet, as Hertfordshire County Council needs to approve the recommendations at its July meeting, so fingers crossed until then.
Councillor Sandra Parnell, Borehamwood Hillside ward and Councillor Pat Strack, Borehamwood Kenilworth ward
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