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Some of the reasons to object:

• Greenbelt receives legal protection which prevents urban sprawl. It creates a sense of space and distance for Bedfont residents from Heathrow airport. Greenbelt should always be land that is considered for release with extreme care and as a last resort. The Mayor of London confirms to us that his office believes the Council can meet targets without building in greenbelt.

• This land acts as a fantastic natural sponge for rainfall. Questions should be raised on measuring increased flood risk if the land is concreted. In addition, the fields help to mitigate the local urban heat island effect.

• It is full of wildlife and biodiversity including owls, bats, pollinators, rabbits, foxes, and muntjac deer.

• With two schools on Hatton Road, we believe it is important to keep these green spaces to avoid increased pollution (air and noise) and traffic. Indeed this is important for all.

• It is not clear that another industrial park is needed – there are empty units right now on North Feltham Industrial Estate, Felthambrook Estate, Vector Park, and others. (true at the time of writing)

• Increased traffic along Hatton Road which is a 20mph road with traffic calming measures would increase pollution and risks to children being dropped off at Bedfont Primary School and Marjorie Kinnon.

• We understand that the GLA has told Hounslow Council that our electricity infrastructure is at maximum capacity. Overloading our infrastructure with an industrial park seems irresponsible.

• Bedfont village has retained a village look and feel helped with its rural look and feel around its periphery. This would be one of the largest losses of green space for decades and spoil the look and feel of the village.

It is not clear that warehousing and logistics will create jobs. The industry is increasingly automating large-scale and/or new warehouses with increasing use of Industrial Automated systems, robotics, and other AI. It would be better for Hounslow Council to develop a plan for existing workforce shortages to be filled with programmes to plug skill gaps or attract labour to the hundreds of vacancies that already exist. In addition, it would be better for the Council to develop a plan for employment opportunities that is much more forward-thinking in the growing green economy or start-up enterprises. It seems short-sighted for the council to consider the Borough’s employment opportunities for the future should be limited to logistics.

The horse fields are iconic for us and all that travel to Bedfont and Heathrow. Many are rescue horses on the land under threat. This is valued by us and our community.

The original plan was written in 2015. Consequent volumes were produced and in the end, Hounslow Council was forced to withdraw all following Inspectors advice. A lot has changed since then – Brexit, climate change crisis, economic crisis, European war, and in 7 years people will have left the community and joined it as well. This new plan has some changes but it isn’t radical enough for our future and the future of our children. While it is good that the scale of development on Hatton Fields has reduced, building on half of this wild natural asset will impact all of it. The Council makes suggestions in this new plan that multi-storey warehousing might be considered. Imagine the blot on our landscape. Please raise an objection.