Exclusive:”There Is No Need To Build On The Green Belt”: National Countryside Charity Backs Hornchurch Residents’ Fight To Save The Fields

Campaigners fighting to protect the fields behind Wingletye Lane and Benets Road have received a major boost after gaining the support of one of the country’s leading countryside organisations.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) London, the charity dedicated to promoting, enhancing and protecting the countryside, has thrown its weight behind the growing campaign to save the fields from a proposed development of up to 470 homes.

Residents living near the site have been campaigning relentlessly to stop the land being developed, arguing that the fields are Green Belt land and should remain protected.

The farmland, which currently stretches towards the Upminster border and is growing wheat, has become the focus of an increasingly passionate battle over the future of one of Havering’s last remaining open spaces.

Campaigners say the land is not “grey belt” but genuine Green Belt that plays a vital role in preserving the character of the area and providing an important habitat for wildlife.

Now CPRE London has publicly backed those concerns.

Speaking to the Havering Daily, John Sadler, Operations Director for CPRE London, said:

“CPRE London strongly objects to the proposed development on Havering’s Green Belt behind Wingletye Lane and Benets Road.”

“The fields have been farmed for years, are rich in wildlife and play a vital role in separating Hornchurch from Upminster, helping check unrestricted urban sprawl and preventing neighbouring towns merging into one another.”

“We do not consider the land can be described as ‘grey belt’.”

“If it goes ahead, the development will spoil the rural character and severely reduce the openness of this tranquil section of the Green Belt.”

Mr Sadler also argued that there are alternative locations available for housing development.

“There is a plentiful supply of brownfield and previously developed land to build affordable homes. There is no need to build on the Green Belt.”

The intervention is likely to be welcomed by local residents who have spent months campaigning against the proposal.

Many fear the development would permanently alter the landscape between Hornchurch and Upminster, while also placing additional pressure on already congested local roads and infrastructure.

The fields are valued not only as productive farmland but also as a wildlife haven supporting a variety of species and providing an important green buffer between communities.

On Sunday, campaigners were joined by Havering’s Leader of the Council, Councillor Keith Prince, who addressed residents gathered at the site.

Councillor Prince voiced his support for the campaign and told residents that he and fellow councillors would do everything they could to oppose the planning application. Local Havering Residents Association councillors John and Lesley Tyler are also standing with residents and fighting this proposed housing development.

With residents, councillors and now a major national countryside charity united in opposition, the battle over the future of the land behind Wingletye Lane is showing no signs of slowing down.

For campaigners, the message remains clear:

“These are not grey belt fields. This is our Green Belt — and we intend to fight for it.”

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