Declaring the ‘Hall Lane Pitch and Putt’ redundant is political revenge by Romford Conservatives. For them everything is political and they hate the Upminster Residents Association (RA) for consistently denying them a majority in Council. Conservatives are in endless minority administrations because of RAs. When challenged, they piously pointed at Havering’s housing plan,1 as a justification for the sale.
RA councillors made fifteen objections to the sale. These reflect the concerns of their constituents.2 House prices weren’t included amongst those objections. However house prices are the life and soul of people living in Upminster. They pretend ‘Pitch and Putt’ is important but no-one’s fooled.3
People who’ve spent a million plus on their homes don’t care about London’s housing crisis. They comfort themselves with the thought that the crisis is an inner-city problem. It isn’t. Many ‘children’ in Havering earn substantial salaries but can’t live near their families. Thirty year old ‘children’ living in the family home is well known.
The re-designation of Hall Lane Pitch and Putt site reflects political muscle. Romford Conservatives actively dislike Upminster RAs. By re-designating this iconic site as development land and forcing it through the democratic process, they’ve illustrated their control of Havering. Inadvertently though, the decision also goes some way towards meeting Havering’s housing needs.
1 The council’s position is here:-
https://havering-consult.objective.co.uk/portal/pp/lp/lp?pointId=4645265#document-4645265
2 http://democracy.havering.gov.uk/documents/g6182/Public%20reports%20pack%2002nd-Apr-2019%2019.30%20Overview%20Scrutiny%20Board.pdf?T=10 see especially pp232-3
3 Hall Lane, The Fairway and Holden Way all have houses in 2018-9 that have been sold at £1 million plus.
Politics in Havering 
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