RESIDENTS have called for Enfield Council to guarantee the long-term future of a treasured conservation area in the heart of Winchmore Hill.

Woodcroft Wildspace is a five-acre former sports field which has been transformed into a haven for wildlife for the benefit of Enfield communities.

Residents who live close to the land, off Woodcroft, have spent more than six years investing their time and energies in building the wildspace.

But they fear their efforts may be in vain unless the council commits to a long-term lease to protect the sites future as a wildspace rather than being used for development.

Bob Ladell, chairman of Woodcroft Wildspace, said: “We have been working with the council for several years but it has proved difficult to move through the process to getting a new lease.

“We want a 75-year lease but there has been significant reticence to agree to that and the idea of disposal keeps coming up.”

The land was sold to the former Southgate Borough Council in 1932, with a covenant protecting it for recreation use.

It was given over for a wildlife reserve in 2003, and volunteers, aided by community groups, school pupils, and businesses, have planted new trees, plants and flowers, built hedges and nesting areas for birds and animals, dug out ponds, and built a apiary for keeping bees.

In 2008, a 75-year lease was agreed by the then secretary of state for communities, and Enfield Council signed off a three-year interim lease until the long-term deal had been finalised.

However, the three years is up in October and the long-term lease has been stuck in development, leading residents to fear the site is being primed to be sold off for housing.

David Burrowes, MP for Enfield Southgate, has backed calls for the 75-year lease to be granted, saying: “The view of the community is clear in the number of people who come here and volunteer.

“The council see this as an asset, but the reality is this is a jewel in the crown of the community. The next stage is to make sure the council is fully engaged in keeping this site for the whole Enfield community.”

Schools from the across the borough have been using the wildspace for education workshops and classes on the environment.

But Mr Ladell said schools and community groups now want reassurance that they will be able to continue using it in the long term, and funding bodies are reluctant to hand over large grants to further develop the project without the guarantee of a future at Woodcroft.

Councillor Martin Prescott (Cons/Winchmore Hill), who successfully campaigned for the creation of the wildspace in 2003, added: “Residents will have to down tools in the next few months if something doesn't happen, and that would be a crying shame.”

However, when the Enfield Independent contacted the council over the issue, it said in a statement that it is “considering several options of how to maximise the benefit of the property for all Enfield people”.

It added: “The council has heard of a campaign for it to grant a lease of Woodcroft for seventy-five years from October 2011 but it must take account of the needs of a wide range of people and organisations and not only the request of one particular group.”