PLANS for a new park in Cranford, which, its designers claim, would be the biggest to open in west London for 100 years, have been submitted.

The 110-acre park would be created in exchange for permission to extract gravel from disused land bordering Bath Road and The Parkway, known as Rectory Farm.

Formal Investments, which owns the green belt site, wants to extract three million cubic metres of gravel over the next two decades.

In return, a new park would be created with sports pitches, woodland and new paths linking neighbourhoods on either side of the land.

Formal Investments claims it will be able minimise disruption during the work, should it get the green light, by using a method known as sealed top-down construction. This would mean the majority of the park could be used by the public while small sections are sealed off in turn.

The underground cavern created would be used as a warehouse, or for similar purposes, and would be managed by the owners.

A formal planning application was submitted to Hounslow Council yesterday (Wednesday, March 27).

Project Manager Richard Jones said: "The gravel extraction will enable the creation of a wonderful new park for the public to enjoy for generations to come. We believe local people appreciate our intention to extract the gravel in a process designed to minimise disruption and create underground spaces which will attract new jobs."

Formal Investments claims more than 90 per cent of people responding to questionnaires supported its plans for the new park.

A spokesman said it had addressed concerns about traffic and safety, by moving the entrance north of the Jolly Waggoner Roundabout and turning the existing farmhouse into a permanent home for a park manager.

For more details about the proposals, visit www.rectory-farm.com .