CAMPAIGNERS who thought they had saved a playing field are devastated its future has been thrown into doubt again.

Conservative Councillor Paul Canal lobbied Redbridge Council to extend Oakfield Playing Field’s lease and support applications for it to become ‘Fields in Trust’.

But at a full council meeting on Thursday, Labour leader Jas Athwal refused to support it, on the grounds it is “contradictory”.

More than 7,000 people opposed the council’s plans to build 600 homes on the Barkingside site as part of the Local Plan 2015-2030.

Cllr Athwal said: “I looked at the requirements for Fields in Trust and one of them is there must be public access.

“The council owns two-thirds of Oakfield. The public can use the facilities but not the grounds.

“You can’t ask for a lease extension and to support a fields in trust application. It’s one or the other.”

Cllr Canal, leader of Redbridge Conservatives, accused the Labour Council of “spite and bitterness.”

He said: “No one likes sore losers, and after their defeat at the Local Plan Public Enquiry the council’s prevarication over the long term future of Old Parkonians and others smacks of spite and bitterness.

“It is not in keeping with the principle of fair play and sportsmanship and risks painting the council as whining whingers.

“I want an end to obfuscation and double speak and a return to honest plain speaking that will safeguard the future of Oakfield for years to come.”

The motion was rejected by 29 votes to 21, and three councillors abstained.

Save Oakfield Society (SOS) ran a fierce campaign ever since Redbridge Council first proposed using green belt sports ground as housing site when the local plan was first drafted.

The playing field was saved after the Planning Inspector said the council’s housing target could be met without building over green belt land.

Councillor Lloyd Duddridge opened his contribution to the debate by singing “it’s beginning to look a lot like an election” to the tune of “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”

He said: “This was never about money -this was only ever about housing. Sometimes in the politics of ambition you make a mistake.

“There is a housing crisis in this borough. Residents will no longer accept timid Redbridge. Now is the time to be bold.

“The motion is smug and self-satisfied. Vote against this motion if you think that all our residents deserve the best and not just members of a private club. I want it to be preserved in perpetuity.”

Cllr Michelle Dunn called the campaign to save Oakfield “the greatest in Redbridge history because campaigners were right and the administration was wrong.”

Fields in Trust, set up in 1925, is a national charity which aims to open up access to outdoor spaces for sport and recreation.