HILLINGDON Council have pledged £40,000 towards a legal fight over Cherry Lane Cemetery in case assurances it will not go ahead prove to be a false dawn.
Councillors agreed to set aside the money on professional advice at last night's (Thursday) cabinet meeting after admitting they found little comfort in British Airways' announcement that they are no longer considering the cemetery as a site for a through road.
Councillor Keith Burrows, cabinet memeber for planning and transportation, said: "I welcome the £40,000 we are now committing to professional advice on heathrow.
"I attended the meeting as did many members of the council and I thought the British Airways man who attended skirted around the issues.
"It was like going into the lion's den for him and he paid a lot of lip service but there were no real assurances.
"By bringing these issues forward we can continue fighting them."
Motions were also put forward at the meeting to spend £25,000 on the installation of a new CCTV camera in Pole Hill Road, Hillingdon, and £30,000 on a borough wide parking management scheme which will be finalised next March.
Overall councillors were happy to report that while services must continue to be monitored closely over the next few months, there were no damaging effects on the Council's budget brought about by the credit crunch, and the planned festive ice rink is all set to go up untroubled.
Councillor Jonathan Bianco, cabinet member for finance and business services, said: "While some of us will shortly be skating on thin ice, i'm glad to say the budget is good. We are still below budget, and are very aware of the economic climate and the effect it is having on our residents."
