London’s deputy mayor Stephen Greenhalgh wasted no time at all in throwing his weight behind the Save Oakfield Site campaign on his visit to Redbridge.

Ilford Recorder: Cllr Brian LambertCllr Brian Lambert (Image: Archant)

Mr Greenhalgh, who is bidding to become the Conservative candidate to fight next year’s London mayoral election, visited the playing fields with Cllr Keith Prince and Cllr Brian Lambert on Wednesday.

Several public figures, including ex- West Ham footballer Sir Trevor Brooking, have supported the campaign to keep the playing fields as green belt land and stop Redbridge Council building on it.

Mr Greenhalgh said: “I was a bit shocked to hear that a Labour council was thinking about selling off green belt land in favour of brown field sites.”

The deputy mayor pointed to Boris Johnson’s regeneration plan – the 20 year London Riverside Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) – for why Redbridge Council would not need to develop Oakfields.

Mr Johnson published plans last month to create 26,500 homes along a 12km stretch of the River Thames east through Barking and Dagenham to Havering using brown field sites.

“I am supporting a campaign to not sell of this land,” he said. “There is a massive public ground swell against any move to sell off public land.

“London has half the land density of Paris or New York, so we can build on brown field land.”