ONE of the most valued areas of green space in Oxhey was saved this week.

A plan to drive a road through the middle of Oxhey Park has been giving residents and environmental campaigners sleepless nights, but on Monday Watford Council's policy and resources committee put their minds at rest when they rejected it.

The proposed Wiggenhall Link Road was part of a scheme to ease traffic in West Watford and Oxhey and was to run from Lower High Street to Wiggenhall Road - across Oxhey Park.

There can be little doubt that such a road would relieve congestion around Bushey Arches, but the price paid would have been too high.

Oxhey Park, and the River Colne which flows through it, are in daily use by dog walkers, fishermen and families, and provide a welcome slice of nature in what is an over-developed area.

Parkland is a rare commodity in Watford and Oxhey and this road would have destroyed some of the most valuable parts.

Environmental concerns are not often allowed to block road developments and it is a positive step for Watford Council to take the green option in this case.

While the Wiggenhall Road relief road was rejected on Monday the Cardiff Road relief road, linking Wiggenhall Road to Watford General Hospital and the Cardiff Road Industrial Estate, was approved.

This will be welcomed by long-suffering residents of Cardiff Road, who have had to put up with large lorries using their road to reach the industrial estate.

It will also be welcomed by people who struggle to reach Watford General Hospital and Watford Football Club.

Environmentalists also objected to this road because it will mean the loss of three of the Farm Terrace allotments.

But here the loss seems a reasonable sacrifice to make when weighed against the advantages.

The allotments as a whole will not be destroyed by the loss in the same way that the park would have been by a road.

Watford's councillors should be applauded for the way they have balanced environmental needs with likely benefits when deciding these two proposals.

Of course there will still be traffic problems in the area. The Cardiff Road relief road will do nothing to relieve the congestion at Bushey Arches or on Eastbury Road and Deacons Hill.

But Monday's decisions were a step in the right direction, and one that is very welcome.