A CONTROVERSIAL plan to build 600 homes on “the best sports pitches in east London” was voted in by councillors last night.

Redbridge councillors approved its local development plan at a heated full council meeting at Redbridge Town Hall in Ilford last night (Thursday, July 21).

The Redbridge Local Plan 2015-2030 outlines plans for 18,500 homes to be built across 200 opportunity sites over the next 14 years.

One of those sites is Oakfield Playing Fields in Barkingside, which campaigners have been fighting to stop councillors releasing from the green belt for redevelopment since the local plan was first drafted in 2014.

The council chamber’s public gallery was packed with Save Oakfield Society (SOS) campaigners, including two nine-year-old girls who implored councillors to save their “beautiful” sports pitches.

Sydney Hildreth, of Glade Primary School, said: “The Government has promised that the beautiful green field of Oakfield would be protected as Green Belt.

“I believe there is also a covenant on the land that was put in place by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, to keep the land for sporting purposes only.

“Our parents have brought us up not to break our promises. As an honest man and respected leader of the council, are you going to break that promise?”

Cabinet member for regeneration, property and planning Cllr Helen Coomb replied: “I cannot support taking Oakfield out of the local plan, because I am thinking of the children of the future, who will live on Oakfield and enjoy its open spaces.

“We need to think of the borough as a whole.

“Our London-wide housing target is 16,845 homes, but we have calculated that in Redbridge we need over double that.

“That is why on balance we take the view that this piece of land should be included in the development plan.”

Conservative leader Cllr Paul Canal moved an amendment to save Oakfield, but it was lost when put to councillors.

He said: “The choice to build on Oakfield is the wrong choice. We have the possibility to build houses and a school elsewhere in the borough.

“And building a school on Oakfield does not address the lack of school places where they are needed most.

“This is not about housing, this is about money and the failure to listen the views of a community.”

SOS campaigner Howard Berlin also led a deputation in a final attempt to get councillors to change their mind.

Joined by youngsters who use the club he said: “Oakfield is green belt land, protected by royal covenant and an asset of huge community value.

“They are the best sports pitches in east London and thousands of boys and girls use them every single week.”

But council leader Jas Athwal maintained that taking Oakfield out of the list of development sites would “go against the grain of eight years of hard work”.

He said: “The Local Plan has been a slow, torturous process spanning three administrations of this council.

“It would be so easy for me to make a U-turn on this.

“But I was elected as a councillor to take decisions that are in the best interests of everyone in the borough.

“If we don’t have the guts to make this difficult decision now, it will be made for us by a secretary of state who doesn’t care about this borough.”

He also “guaranteed” that Oakfield would be replaced by “better quality” sports pitches elsewhere.

The final vote on the Local Plan was won, with 31 voting for, 21 against and four abstaining.