MORE than 5,500 people have signed a petition against a second hockey pitch being built on a public open space in Ruislip.
The number of signatures is thought to be the largest collected against a planning application in the borough.
At 5,595 it is more than 1,000 up on a previous petition opposing Eastcote Hockey Club’s plans for another artificial pitch on King’s College Playing Fields.
Any petition signed by at least 2,500 people living in the borough is considered at a full Hillingdon Council meeting.
The latest protest was organised by the Friends of Pinn Meadows, a group of local people formed after the hockey club withdrew its first application for an extra Astroturf pitch with fencing and floodlights.
Group chairman Rob Cousins handed the petition to East Ruislip ward councillor Catherine Dann on the steps of Hillingdon Civic Centre in Uxbridge on Friday last week.
“We knew about the amount of local opposition, and it has been easy to get people to sign it when we put the petition in front of them,” he said.
“There is a lot of awareness this time around, and people are angry about having to petition against this application for the third time.
“I think people want this to be the last time.”
The hockey club is making its third attempt to get another pitch on the meadows.
It argues that the growing numbers of players, particularly in its youth and women’s teams, means its first artificial turf pitch can no longer cater for the club’s needs.
