Residents raise thousands for legal challenge to Putney Common development

Hundreds of neighbours have joined forces to fund a legal challenge against plans to build a road across an historic London common.

The road is needed to access a new primary school proposed to replace an abandoned hospital on Putney Common.

The school would be paid for with 24 luxury flats on the other half of the £4.4m site, which was once owned by Princess Diana’s family estate.

Residents have accused Wandsworth Council of over-development, saying the scheme is “the wrong thing in the wrong place”.

More than 1,200 locals, including classical pianist Piers Lane, have signed a petition against the plans and raised £12,000 towards the estimated £15,000 costs of contesting them in just nine days.

The Friends of Putney Common lost a judicial review last month against the council, questioning the legality of the plans. But now the campaigners are preparing for a fresh challenge in the Court of Appeal.

Nicholas Evans said: “It’s the council putting an over-intensified and ugly development on one of the nicest sites in Putney and building on the common. It’s the wrong thing in the wrong place.

“Most residents will be very happy for the hospital to be gone and something sensible being built on it, but not this and not a road.”

The Friends group took action over a so-called easement agreement, signed in February 2012, between the council and the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators which now owns the land.

In a High Court judgement in November Justice Williams concluded the conservators were within their rights to allow the use of an old access road to the disused hospital and the need for any further road to be built would have a minimal impact on the public.