THE fight for the Medi Parc is heating up, now that a date has been set for a public inquiry into the future of the nature reserve - and residents have just two months to prepare.
The future of the land has been hotly debated since, out of the blue last February, new owners bulldozed undergrowth and chopped down trees, sending animals running into Old Park Woods.
Comer Homes plans to build 80 homes on the much-loved site, a popular destination for dog walkers.
Harefield Tenants' and Residents' Association came up with a plan to foil Comer last summer, using a little-known law to register it as a village green, on the basis it has been publicly accessible for more than 20 years. Since last
July, members of the public have been locked out by padlocked steel gates.
A public inquiry is due to start on Monday, April 4 at Hillingdon Civic Centre.
Tina Wane, head of the Medi Parc sub-committee, said: "We were told it would take up to four years for an inquiry. We have just a month and a half to collect our evidence."
Each side - the residents and Comer Homes - will be able to see the other's evidence before the inquiry, which could last up to five days.
Hillingdon Council is not deciding the matter, thus avoiding the cost of a judicial review if it were to rule incorrectly in the case. The inquiry chairman will be independent.
Harefield's residents will be represented by Nigel Agg, a town planner who lives in the village and is now working to prepare a thorough case.
Pauline Crawley, chair-woman of the residents' association, said: "Our message to people is the fight starts now, and to keep battling.
"We decided not to go ahead with hiring a barrister, it would be too costly, and we are more than confident in Nigel. He knows Harefield and has real expertise in local government issues.
"We are at the stage now where we must start deciding who to call as witnesses, and wish to call people from a very broad spectrum."
The biggest challenge is likely to be financial. Fundraising events are likely, as the task of taking on a company backed by the millionaire Comer brothers begins.
"We really need donations to pay towards all our costs as our funds have dwindled of late," said Mrs Crawley. "We have to do lots of photocopying documents, some of which are up to 300 pages. We are looking at arranging collection points in shops around the village."
There is a precedent for success: in Croxley Green residents' association successfully used the same legislation to fight a rail depot on what is now a registered village green.
