Controversial plans to appropriate part of a park in Brentford for a new school have been dropped after an alternative temporary site was found.
The primary free school Floreat Brentford had been due to open in Brent Lea Recreation Ground after getting planning permission earlier this year.
Hounslow Council initially agreed to award the school's founders Floreat Education a 125-year lease on the grounds but revoked that decision in the face of strong public opposition.
However, the council still began steps to appropriate the land, publishing a number of public notices, so the school could open there this September.
This week the council announced it was no longer considering whether to appropriate the recreation ground after an alternative temporary site at Trico House, on the Great West Quarter estate, in Ealing Road, Brentford, was secured.
Council leader Steve Curran said: "The appropriation for the temporary school will no longer be going ahead but I am grateful to the public for spending time submitting their responses to the consultation.
"Hounslow Council will continue to cooperate with the EFA (the Education Funding Agency, which funds new schools) to identify a suitable permanent site and await the sequential testing results which will inform the next steps – which we will be sure to keep residents informed of.
"We need a permanent school in the Brentford area, as providing good quality school places is a top priority for us, but we also need to take into account the importance of preserving our green space."
The decision follows the submission of a 1,390-signature petition from campaigners opposing the proposed appropriation, who have formed the Save Our Rec protest group.
They argued that, as well as the loss of a "pleasant, popular and much-used" public space, the plans would have breached the terms of a covenant dating back to 1961 restricting the land's use.
They now plan to celebrate by holding a party at the park, in London Road, on Wednesday, August 12, from 7pm.
Floreat Education says the two-form entry school, which will have up to 60 pupils in its first year, is on course to open this September at Trico House. It says the school will remain there for two years while options for a permanent site are explored.
The council says heads of terms for the lease have been agreed between the EFA and Trico Developments.
But some residents on the GWQ estate are unhappy about the plans, which they say they first heard about when they were announced by the council.
Emanuele Sozzi, who lives in the Trico House tower block, said he felt the site was unsuitable for a school. He is concerned about the impact on traffic and parking, and also the lack of outdoor play space.
