RESIDENTS fighting Bristol City Council's green spaces plan thought they had saved their local park when they were told it had a covenant preventing development.

That was until they discovered Bristol City Council's own information on Elderberry Walk in Southmead was completely wrong.

It's the latest in a series of blunders on the heavily criticised schemes, and campaigners say it calls into question whether any of the council's information is correct.

Elderberry Walk is one of 62 pieces of land the authority has put forward for sale under the area green space plan, in the hope of raising money to improve up to 200 other parks in the city.

Campaigners used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain a "value assessment" on the site, a document put together by council officers showing research into each of threatened spaces.

It said the entire area had a restrictive covenant on it, which prevents the building of five or more homes on the land.

Despite this, the council planned on having the covenant removed so it could build on the site anyway.

Now though, it turns out that not only does the covenant not apply to the whole of the park – only a part that is not at threatened with being sold – but it hasn't applied since 1947.

Alison Devonshire, a member of the Friends of Okebourne group, said: "How can they say the value assessment is wrong? You don't make mistakes like that. If this was wrong, how do we know all of them aren't wrong? If they are, they should all be pulled."

Ms Devonshire said residents would consult a solicitor to investigate the council claim.

Regardless of the covenant, they still plan on fighting the sale.

Rhonda Brace, who lives near the site, said: "We're saying please leave it alone. I've been in touch with my MP Charlotte Leslie and I'm going to fight all the way.

"The park means a great deal. It's used by families picnicking and dog walkers, it's just an amazing piece of land."

The council has apologised for the error but says the initial statement was based on information by the Land Registry, a government department that keeps a record of land registered in England and Wales.

But the council failed to correct the error during the last two years of researching the green spaces plan, the last four months of consultation or even when Ms Devonshire requested the value assessment.

It was only when asked for details by the Evening Post this week that the mistake came to light.

Council spokeswoman Helen Hewitt said: "City council officers when first drawing up the value assessment document were informed by the Land Registry there was a restrictive covenant dating back to the sale of the land in 1933.

"Initial investigations carried out by the council's legal department brought into question whether or not this covenant was binding.

"Subsequently, expert advice and further investigations by the Land Registry show the covenant was not officially registered at the Land Charges Registry when the land was sold on in 1947.

"This therefore means that there is no covenant on land at Elderberry Walk. The Land Registry has now corrected their records.

"The city council appreciates that the information originally supplied by the land registry and published in good faith by the council was out of date and apologises for any confusion this may have caused."