The battle to save a horse-riding centre for disabled children from potentially damaging future development has been informally won, after a Sutton councillor revealed it was “pretty much safe.”

Sutton Council had earmarked land in Wellfield Gardens, Carshalton, as a potential site for development as part of its draft local masterplan.

RELATED: Diamond Riding Centre for disabled children at risk after Sutton Council proposal to build on Green Belt

Diamond Riding Centre for Disabled Riders uses the land as an area for its horses to graze and said the number of horses they can keep will be reduced if the proposal gets the go-ahead.

Your Local Guardian:

Horses from the Diamond Riding Centre uses Wellfield Gardens land for grazing 

Councillor Jayne McCoy said the centre is “pretty much safe”, when responding to its chairman’s representations and petition at a housing, economy and business committee meeting on Tuesday.

But she added that the land, which Sutton Council has earmarked as a potential site for development, has to first go through a formal process before their plans can be dropped.

She said: “It is a recommendation by the officers and the Task and Finishing Group but, the final decision is still up for consultation.

“For now we are endorsing the recommendations of the officers.”

“I’m sorry I can’t give that absolute ‘set-in-stone’.

She added: “You’re pretty much safe there but I cannot actually say that yet, it has to go through the formal process.”

Seven sites of Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land have been identified as potentially suitable sites to accommodate additional housing or schools in the borough.

RELATED: Petitioners urge council to reject proposal to reshape borough's green belt on Wellfield Gardens

Steve Axon, chairman of the Diamond Rising Centre, thanked supporters for signing the petition he presented to the council.

He said: “The support we have seen for the petition has been amazing.

“I am pleased that the councillors have listened to the concerns we had about not being able to use the Wellfield Grazing.

"And that they now recognise the loss of this land would impact the number of horses we could graze, which in turn would reduce the number of disabled riders we could accommodate."

A ‘Petition to Protect Wellfield Grazing’ was received by the council containing more than 2,200 signatures.

Objections to the proposed traveller site in Kimpton Park Way, which was presented via a petition to the council with 4,303 signatures, were also discussed during Tuesday’s meeting.

The council has drawn up plans for “one or two” new gypsy and traveller sites, with a second potential location identified in Roundshaw, in response to concerns about overcrowding.

No firm decisions were made at the meeting, but the committee are set to meet for further consideration on the draft local plan on December 6.