Residents who petitioned to save their park have finally been answered by Kensington and Chelsea Council - which apologised if they thought it had not taken them seriously.

In April, 410 residents of Wornington Green Estate in Portobello Road, North Kensington, wrote to the council asking it to safeguard the future of Athlone Gardens, the green space which lies at the centre of the estate.

The community feared that the oasis could be at risk under Kensington Housing Trust's plans to bulldoze and rebuild the popular North Kensington estate.
They wrote: "This would entail the destruction of matures trees, seated ares for older people, the playground, the bandstand and open areas for ball games and dog walking. Listen to your residents who are adamant that the park must not be moved or built on."

Five months later, the petition is finally to be discussed at a council meeting on the public realm to be held at Kensington Town Hall on Monday.

A letter to residents, printed in the committee papers, said: "We apologise for the length of time it has taken to reply to you. You may be thinking that this indicated that we did not take the petition seriously.

"It is, in fact, quite the reverse. We are very grateful to you for drawing attention to how strongly your community feels about the park."

Council representatives go on to explain that Kensington Housing Trust is considering moving the park - but will need planning permission from the council to do this.

"Although KHT has floated the idea of relocating the park, the council has not taken a decision on this," the letter continued. "Our existing planning policies would not allow planning permission to be granted if the overall size of the final park were smaller than Athlone Gardens."

 A specialist council group is expected to talk over the Wornington Green Estate plans in public after less than 10 per cent of residents took part in a public consultation about the estate plans.