Labour promises Crystal Palace Park decision - after the next election!

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 19th Oct 2009

Cllrs John Canvin (right) and Tom Papworth have been fighting for improvements to Crystal Palace Park

The Labour Minister who will take the final decision on Crystal Palace park has announced that he will not announce his decision until 20 May 2010, local Lib Dem councillors have learned. The next general election must be held by 6 June 2010.

The planning inquiry closed on 8 September, and the report has been sent to the government, but the Secretary of State has decided not to respond for another seven months.

Cllr John Canvin, who has been fighting for Crystal Palace Park since he was elected eight years ago, said "It is unbelievable that Labour need six months to make a decision. This has been dragging on for years and it is time that a decision was made."

Lewisham West and Penge parliamentary candidate Alex Feakes added "This is a tough decision and no outcome is going to please everybody. But, it needs to be taken. The problem with Labour is that they are too scared to take the tough decisions. That is why they have put this off until the end of May, by which time the next general election will probably be out of the way."