A YEAR-LONG campaign to bring down the 8ft-high fence around Crystal Palace Park top site could be at an end.

Bromley Council leaders caused outrage last July by agreeing in secret to erect the hoarding at a cost of £25,000.

Dismissing other options as either impractical or too expensive, they insisted it was the only way to deter travellers and fly-tippers.

Environment officers now admit the hoarding has failed to prevent travellers illegally occupying the site. They say a palisade-style fence could be put up at a fraction of the cost.

A report states: “This is also considered to be a low-risk, low-cost option.

“It would be relatively easy and quick to implement.” The move will delight community groups and residents who have been saying this for almost 12 months.

In a bid to restore faith in the fractured “stakeholder” process, with independent facilitator Nigel Westaway, officers say removing the fence would “positively re-engage local groups”.

Many of those involved in the meetings have pulled out in protest at the council’s refusal to re-open the section of the park where Joseph Paxton’s famous Crystal Palace once stood.

Executive councillors are expected to agree to replace the hoarding with a barred fence when they meet on Monday.