Campaigners who fought plans to turn playing fields into a caravan site have voiced their delight after the proposals were turned down.

Harrow Borough Council’s planning committee voted last night to refuse planning permission for the plans from Harrow Community Sports Ltd for Broadfields playing fields.

Proposals for the Headstone Lane site included 75 pitches for touring caravans as well as shower and toilet blocks.

Campaigner Georgia Weston led the Save Broadfields campaign and helped collect more than 4,200 signatures for a petition against the plans.

She said: “Everyone who was involved in the campaign was really pleased by the decision.

“The size of the petition collected shows how strongly people feel about these playing fields and keeping them for the community.

“Moving forward we would like to work with Harrow Community Sports to reopen the fields, have them used for sports and make them a site which could benefit the whole community.”

The plans were turned down for eight reasons, among them being inappropriate development in the green belt and a loss of playing fields.

Speaking as a backbencher at last night’s planning meeting, Councillor Anthony Seymour said: “I don’t think any of us have ever seen a petition this large for a planning application I think it shows the strength of feeling.

“This proposal is not at all suitable for this site.”

The council had also received letters of objection from Harrow East MP Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow West Gareth Thomas and Sports England.

The committee voted to refuse the plans following the end of an official site consultation, when final authority for the decision would be delegated to the divisional director of planning.

These were the latest plans for the fields after Harrow Community Sports submitted a similar application for a caravan site last year, withdrawing them days before a decision was due to be made.