Lake Farm Country Park is an expanse of

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which ...

land approximately 60 acres in size fringed by trees and the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter ...

, situated in the south of Hayes in the

London Borough of Hillingdon The London Borough of Hillingdon () is the largest and westernmost borough in West London, England. It was formed from the districts of Hayes and Harlington, Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the ceremonial county ...

. Its formal status as a country park dates back to September 2002. In 2014 an area of the park was developed as an academy school by

Hillingdon Council Hillingdon London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Hillingdon in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Hillingdon is divided into 22 wards, elect ...

. The development was controversial, since the site was classed as green-belt land, and several protests were held against the plans. Despite opposition, the application was approved in 2013, and construction continued throughout 2014. The school opened in late 2014. The former

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person who has a ...

site was located approximately 0.5 km to the south of Wood End, Hayes, immediately to the north of the canal. It was bounded by Dawley Road in the west, Botwell Common Road to the north, and Botwell Lane to the east. The Country Park had ten formal pedestrian entrances along Dawley, Botwell Common Road, the Grand Union Canal and Botwell Lane. It also had two bridleway entrances: one off Botwell Common Road and one off Dawley Road.

History

Before 1814 the area of Lake Farm formed part of Botwell Common, an unenclosed area of

for use by the parishioners of Hayes. In 1814 the land was

enclosed Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

and divided up into a number of parcels, the greater part of the site going to John Baptist Shackle. Two large

gravel pit A gravel pit is an open-pit mine for the extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may naturally fill with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used either ...

s were present on the site at this time (occupying 7 and 5 acres), in areas subsequently occupied by formal public open space. It is likely that the remnant

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoin ...

s along the edges of these areas were enclosure hedges, which would have been planted around this time. Lake Farm was so-named owing to an ornamental lake that was located beyond the north-east corner of the site, in the grounds of Lake House, which was owned by Thomas Shackle. The lake was filled in 1954. By around 1850 the Shackle family were operating

brickworks A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a quarry for ...

over most of the current Lake Farm site. These were backfilled with clay and other materials, and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the site was used for the testing of

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

equipment for

armoured vehicles Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fight ...

. The

Thorn EMI Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Comi ...

company continued to use the site until the early 1990s and relics of the testing facilities remain on site, including a testing tower and a derelict trailer. Much of the site was formerly managed as

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...

, but was latterly entered into set aside and developed as

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

, being cut annually for

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

by the agricultural tenant. Lake Farm was formally made a country park in September 2002, after years of campaigning to save it from development.

School development

On 25 February 2012 more than 100 local residents took to the streets to

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...

about Hillingdon Council's plan to build a primary school in the park, in open defiance of its own

Green Belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which ...

policy. Hayes and Harlington MP

John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...

led a march from the spot earmarked for the building - the green in Botwell Lane, Hayes - to the town centre. Since announcing its intentions, Hillingdon Council has stood firm in the face of public discontent, confirming in August 2012 that "the planning application asbeing tweaked." In January 2013, a GLA report demonstrated that Hillingdon Council's plan to build on Lake Farm was in jeopardy, and London's Mayor

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

raised major concerns over the council's plan to build on Lake Farm. Transport for London also recognised that parents dropping off their children would cause major congestion and bus-service disruption. On 5 March 2013, in a stormy council meeting, the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

majority of Hillingdon Council's planning committee members approved the application to build a school on the park, despite residents and Hayes ward councillors expressing their anger in the chamber. Hayes and Harlington MP

was one of five petitioners who spoke on behalf of hundreds of campaigners to strongly oppose the idea of building on Lake Farm. Speaking after the meeting, Mr McDonnell observed: "It was not democratic, and I've never seen a council meeting descend into such a shambles . . . The council's agenda is clear - once they have built on one part, they will come back for more." The ''Uxbridge Gazette'' reported on 24 April 2013 that London's Mayor Boris Johnson, who at the beginning of the year had raised major concerns about the idea of building on Lake Farm, would not intervene in Council plans to build a school on three hectares of green belt land, at the eastern end of Lake Farm Country Park. The Mayor's approval infuriated John McDonnell MP, who called it a "disgraceful betrayal of our local community." Conservative leader of the council Ray Puddifoot claimed: "Opponents of the scheme have been given every opportunity to come up with an alternative site, but nothing feasible has materialised so we need to press ahead with the agreed proposal."

Flora and fauna

Most of the site is open

and shrubs, which Hillingdon Council have described as "important for

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

". A trim trail ran through the site, which was recognisable by its skylark

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

. The site has a diverse habitat structure, including areas of

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

row,

and

ruderal A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural for example, wildfires or avalanchesor the consequences of human activities, such as construction ( of roads, of buildings, mining, et ...

/tall herbs. Lake Farm is a popular habitat for

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s. It is home to

skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

s, which are included in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan for

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of '' critical depen ...

. In July 2012

birdwatcher Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

s descended on the park to catch a glimpse of a red-backed shrike, which is extremely rare in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Facilities and features

The Country Park features a bird sculpture by Ben Dearnley, who came to prominence as Official Olympic Artist for London's 2012 Olympics. Two areas of more formal open space are situated in the north-western and north-eastern corners of the park, which includes short-mown

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

, planted

trees In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are u ...

and a children's play area. Circular footpaths link in with local roads and the canal, and the area is popular for

dog walking Dog walking is the act of a person walking with a dog, typically from the dog's residence and then returning. Leashes are commonly used for this. Both owners and pets receive many benefits, including exercise and companionship. Description ...

as can be seen by the presence of dog bins. There is a BMX track on the western edge of the site.

Transport

Buses

The A10 and H50 use Dawley Road, and U4 and 350 use Botwell Lane. Hayes town centre is 500m away, with its many other regular bus services.

Train

The closest train station is Hayes and Harlington which is a little over 1 km walk along the canal.

Car

car park A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

is present off Dawley Road, which is only opened for events. Informal parking is allowed on the drive leading to the car park at other times.

Management

The area has a Management Advisory Group, and a Friends of Lake Farm Country Park Group.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * Cotton, Jonathan; Mills, John; Clegg, Gillian. (1986) ''Archaeology in West Middlesex''. Uxbridge: London Borough of Hillingdon * Kelter, Catherine. (1996) ''Hayes Past''. London: Historical Publications Ltd {{LB Hillingdon Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Hillingdon