Editing London Borough of Hillingdon (section)

==Parks and recreation==
[[File:Eastcote House Gardens Dovecote.jpg|thumb|The Eastcote House walled garden]]
[[File:London Borough of Hillingdon from the air - 2014 12 26.webm|thumb|London Borough of Hillingdon from the air]]
The borough maintains over 200 green spaces, totalling around {{convert|1800|acre|ha}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=7724 |title=Parks and open spaces |date=11 January 2011 |publisher=London Borough of Hillingdon |access-date=5 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522094303/http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=7724 |archive-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As much of the area is within the [[Metropolitan Green Belt]] it was, in 2008, one of the least densely populated of all the [[London borough]]s; open spaces range in size from the [[Colne Valley regional park|Colne Valley Regional Park]] by the [[River Colne, Hertfordshire|River Colne]] in the north of the borough, to smaller gardens and parks such as the [[Norman Leddy Memorial Gardens]] and [[Lake Farm Country Park]] in the south of the borough.<ref name="Hillingdon profile">{{cite web |url=http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/media/pdf/p/m/Hillingdon_profile_brochure_Hillingdon_profile_brochure.pdf |title=Hillingdon profile 2008 |year=2008 |publisher=London Borough of Hillingdon |access-date=27 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812160935/http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/media/pdf/p/m/Hillingdon_profile_brochure_Hillingdon_profile_brochure.pdf |archive-date=12 August 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Council leader Raymond Puddifoot had given a promise that green-belt land in Hillingdon would be safe on his watch: 'I can give a categoric assurance that under this administration we will never see a threat to the green belt.'<ref>{{cite news |title=Council going ahead with Green Belt school plan |last=Cracknell |first=James |url=http://hayes.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/2011/08/council-going-ahead-with-green.html |newspaper=Uxbridge Gazette |date=1 August 2011 |access-date=10 September 2013}}</ref> In August 2012, however, Mr Puddifoot announced plans to build on green-belt (and longtime [[common land]]) site [[Lake Farm Country Park|Lake Farm]] in the south of the borough.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lake Farm school plans 'due within weeks' |last=Griffith |first=Jack |url=http://hayes.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/2012/08/lake-farm-school-plans-due-wit.html |newspaper=Uxbridge Gazette |date=22 August 2012 |access-date=12 September 2012}}</ref> Dismissing the discontent of residents in the south of the borough, the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] majority of the council's planning committee peremptorily rubber-stamped the plans in March 2013.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fury as Hillingdon Council approves green belt school at Lake Farm |last=Griffith |first=Jack |url=http://hayes.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/2013/03/fury-as-hillingdon-council-app.html |newspaper=Uxbridge Gazette |date=6 March 2013 |access-date=10 May 2013}}</ref>

Harmondsworth Moor, a park owned by the borough, is administered by [[British Airways]] on behalf of the borough.<ref>"[http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=14631 Harmondsworth Moor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608211338/http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=14631 |date=8 June 2011 }}." London Borough of Hillingdon. Retrieved 2 September 2009.</ref> After British Airways planned to create a new headquarters in 1992, the airline agreed to convert a former [[landfill]] site into Harmondsworth Moor.<ref>"[http://www.britishairways.com/travel/csr-harmondsworth-moor/public/en_en Contact Information]." British Airways. Retrieved 18 May 2009.</ref>

The [[Grand Union Canal]] passes through [[Hayes, Hillingdon|Hayes]], [[Yiewsley]], [[Cowley, London|Cowley]] and [[Uxbridge]] in the borough. [[Ruislip Lido]] was built as a feeder [[reservoir]] for the canal, but was eventually disconnected and changed to become a recreational [[Lido (swimming pool)|lido]]. Two [[Sites of Special Scientific Interest]] next to the canal, [[Frays Farm Meadows]] and [[Denham Lock Wood]], are managed by the [[London Wildlife Trust]].

The borough also operates children's centres, recreational areas for children of under five years of age and their families. The centres include: Barra Hall, Belmore, Cherry Lane, Colham Manor, Cornerstone, Cowley St. Laurence, Harefield, Hillside, McMillan Early Childhood Centre, Nestles Avenue, Oak Farm, and Uxbridge College (Hayes Campus).<ref>"[http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=14682 Children's centres in Hillingdon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608194239/http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=14682 |date=8 June 2011 }}." London Borough of Hillingdon. Retrieved 26 June 2010.</ref>

The borough owns four [[theatre]]s: the [[Beck Theatre]] in Hayes (which is operated on behalf of the borough by Trafalgar Entertainment<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/news/trafalgar-entertainment-acquires-hq-theatres|title=Trafalgar Entertainment acquires HQ Theatres|work=Arts Professional|date=31 March 2021|first=Liz|last=Hill}}</ref>), the [[Compass Theatre]] in Ickenham, the Winston Churchill Theatre and Hall (part of the [[Manor Farm, Ruislip|Manor Farm]] site) and the Open Air Theatre in Barra Hall Park in Hayes.

===Sport and leisure===
The borough has seven [[Non-League football]] clubs:
*[[A.F.C. Hayes]], who play at Farm Park, Hayes.
*[[Harefield United F.C.]], who play at Preston Park, Harefield.
*[[Hayes & Yeading United F.C.]], who play at Skyex Community Stadium, Hayes.
*[[Hillingdon Borough F.C.]] who play at the Middlesex Stadium, Ruislip.
*[[Northwood F.C.]] who play at the [[Northwood Park Stadium]], Northwood.
*[[Uxbridge F.C.]] who play at Honeycroft, Yiewsley.
*[[Wealdstone F.C.]] who play at [[Grosvenor Vale]], Ruislip.
The borough is also home to Hillingdon Outdoor Activity Centre (HOAC), a water sports and activity centre.<ref>{{cite web |title=HOAC |url=http://www.hoac.net |website=www.hoac.net |access-date=18 July 2021 |date=29 September 2020}}</ref> The centre is home to a number of independently run sports clubs:
* Queensmead Sailing Club<ref>{{cite web |title=Home Page - Queensmead Sailing Club |url=http://www.queensmeadsc.org.uk/ |website=www.queensmeadsc.org.uk |access-date=18 July 2021}}</ref>
* Hillingdon Rowing Club<ref>{{cite web |title=Hillingdon Rowing Club |url=http://www.hillingdonrowing.com/ |website=www.hillingdonrowing.com/ |access-date=18 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118131621/http://www.hillingdonrowing.com/ |archive-date=2019-01-18 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Hillingdon Junior Canoe Club<ref>{{cite web |title=Hillingdon Junior Canoe Club |url=http://www.hjcc.org.uk |website=www.hjcc.org.uk |access-date=18 July 2021}}</ref>
* Harrow Angling Club<ref>{{cite web |title=Harrow Angling Society - Specimen carp & coarse fishing in the Colne Valley |url=http://www.harrowangling.co.uk/ |website=Harrow Angling Society |access-date=18 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref>