I am writing this article to mainly share my anger at the blatant greed of a group of residents in Stoke Newington who live in houses worth, on average, 0.5 million pounds and who have the rare pleasure in our area of owning gardens about 15ft long. These same residents have gardens that back onto a strip of woodland that separates them from Betty Layward Primary School. This school has been open for two years now, the same time that it has taken this woodland dispute to get to court. These greedy residents took down fences that secured the woodland for the school, and claimed the land for themselves before the school had been completed. One resident even hired contractors to come in and remove the fence and lawn some of the woodland enabling BBQs and the like! Instead of giving the land back when the school opened the residents felt they had just cause to get an injunction that denied the kids access to the land while the dispute was awaiting a court date. In the meantime letters were sent to the Hackney Gazette from members of this group of residents claiming that a 'buffer zone' between the residents and the school was needed. One resident aired his concerns of having the uncontrollable children of Hackney 'baying' (an adjective assigned to the actions of animals, in particular, dogs or wild animals) at his back door! The residents also believed they should also have a 'Notting Hill Private Garden' arrangement of access to the land where keys would be shared by the school and the residents. After the hostility shown towards the children by these residents I really don't feel too comfortable at the idea that these people would be free to roam around in the woodland at the same time as our kids! On the first day of the court case a group of parents arrived to support the school and Hackney Council in getting the land back for the educational benefits of the kids. On Tuesday 8th of January, a day later, a settlement was agreed between the council and the residents. The judge stated that the law in this situation was very complicated and could last for a long time, eventually even ending up at the House of Lords, and costing huge sums of money with no guarantee of an outcome. The settlement was as follows: The residents would give up their claim of access to the woodland in exchange for a 5m strip of the woodland each. This land is now their land and means, when measured and partitioned, that a significant piece of the school's woodland will be amputated. If any trees are caught up in the division they will be either cut down or another court case will be initiated to appease the greedy. The hostility shown by this group of residents towards the school and the kids is worrying, complaints are made about the noise from the playground, the police were called during a fund raising fair at the school because of noise. The most worrying factor about this case is that these people have gotten away with land grabbing, through the courts. Hackney Council, in the state that it is in, has been left to pay half of their legal costs and hand out a chunk of it's land that was there to give our kids the chance to understand and appreciate the benefits of nature and learn about the woodland, insects and birds. Instead, for the last two years they have had a huge fence keeping them out while wealthy homeowners exist in their impirical community-bubble on the other side. When interviewed outside the court, one resident categorically denied having any other motive for the land grab, but to protect the woodland from the school. Yet, when perusing the local estate agents web-site one can easily find a two bedroomed FLAT, in a house on this particular strip of households, with an asking price of £209,000.00! Alot of money? Hey, but it does also boast access to a nature reserve in the back garden...mmm protect the woodland or add an attractive extra feature to an already ridiculously priced property! This isn't just a squabble over a bit of land, it is a revolt against a class attitude that leads to situations like the one here in Hackney. The divide between those who have and those who have not is getting ridiculously wide and all you need to do is pick up the Hackney Gazette and read story after story of poverty and violence to realise who the losers are. Hackney can just about manage basic services, week after week people struggle to keep nurseries and youth services running, provide aid for the elderly and sustain a quality of life fit for everyone in this borough. Now it is left with a huge legal bill to pay, how fortunate for the residents of Carysfort Road, they were represented by a solicitor who just happened to be part of the land grab (I am also led to believe that it is her husband that thinks of our children as wild animals 'baying' at his back door) This can be corrected by stopping this blatant greed and ensure boroughs like Hackney are not swindled out of land by wealthy, greedy people who feel that they have a right to take land that is not theirs and that has never been theirs...they have had the privilege of this land for quite a while...Now it is time for them to hand it back.