CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save their homes from being destroyed say “half the battle has been won” after a nearby park was removed from the plans.

Proposals to regenerate the Broadwater Farm Estate, in Tottenham, and the nearby Lordship Recreation Ground, were among 100 sites set out in Haringey Council’s draft planning documents.

But after a passionate plea from neighbours, the authority has agreed to remove Lordship Rec open space from the next stage of the policy.

But this does not include the Broadwater Farm – something which has left those who live in the area angry.

Jacob Secker, who has lived on the estate for seven years, said: “I am very glad the Lordship Rec issue has been resolved because we raised such a fuss about it. It was just ridiculous.

“The council will have to see sense about the Broadwater Farm issue. Half the battle has been won but we’ve still got a long way to go.

“We’ll fight for every inch of land. I am very passionate about this issue. We don’t want to lose social housing.”

More than 600 people told the council the park was a well-used resource they did not want to lose.

Mr Secker and the other campaigners now fear that if the Broadwater Farm Estate homes were knocked down and rebuilt, those who rely on social housing could end up homeless.

He added: “We don’t want to move to another estate with worse facilities than we do – here we’ve got a football club, the community centre, parking and schools. We don’t want to lose that.

“We’re going to continue lobbying for this.”

Haringey Council worked closely with the Friends of Lordship Rec to complete a £5million makeover of the park two years ago, with a new bike track, eco-hub and planted meadows.

The park was included in the council’s draft Local Plan documents which every council in England is required to have, to set out how and where future developments should take place.

Councillor Ali Demirci, cabinet member for planning, said: “With London facing a housing crisis, it’s important we explore every option to look at where we can build the modern, high-quality homes that Haringey needs to help those struggling to find an affordable place to live.

“We know how much local people value the excellent facilities at Lordship Rec and its recent £5million revamp has seen it looking better than ever.

“Residents have been clear that they don’t want to explore the idea of any development on the Rec, which is why we’ll be removing it completely from the final policy.

“As the new proposals make clear, we do still want to talk to Broadwater Farm residents to get their views on what they like and don’t like about their estate, and what the best options are in the long-term to give families a better quality of life.”

The council will start a consultation to ask Broadwater Farm residents what improvements they want to see on the estate before the end of the year.