Dear all
This is at very short notice so please excuse the bulk mailing. It concerns an application to privatise, i.e. pay to play, an area of Tooting Common. If this current crisis  has not shown us and the Council how very important  these green spacesare,  then nothing will. There is a petition below. I do hope people will feel able to sign it.
Petition:  https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/protect-tooting-common?share=649a04c6-bae3-4a82-82b1-95ad08f21b1b

This Tuesday, Wandsworth Planning Committee will vote on plans for a commercial football facility on Tooting Common, including four floodlit astroturf football pitches surrounded by a 15 foot high mesh fence.

We, the undersigned call on Wandsworth Mayor Jane Cooper and the council to reject the proposal on the follow grounds:

Why is this important?

* The development will destroy the environment of one of the remaining green spaces in London not bounded by roads.

* It will not be freely accessible to the public: It will be privately run and let out on a pay to play basis and stretch over 80 yards across the common.

* There will be a substantial increase car parking and congestion – with the entrance to the common used day and night by a football club who play in a semi-professional league and recruit players from across South London.

We ask you to reject this proposal and respect the sanctity of Tooting Common, both for its natural environment and as an area that is open and can be enjoyed by all.

NB: The virtual planning meeting will be held at 7:30pm on Tuesday, 19th May, 2020. Details will be issued on: https://democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=6509&x=1–
Best regards,
Susan
—
Susan Lofthouse