Whitchurch residents bid for town green

Whitchurch residents packed out the final day of a public inquiry into whether a local park should be protected from developers.

More than 30 people attended the end of the three-day inquiry at the Council House yesterday.

Now they must wait for the inspector to prepare her report for the city council, who are opposing the move.

It is expected to take between two and three months before the report is publicly available.

The case rests on the formal status of the land, and whether it was changed in 1980.

If, as the city council suggests, the land was changed from and with development purposes to public open space in 1980, it cannot become a town green.

The Elmtree Park Residents' Association (EPRA) wants to secure town green status for the 15 acres of land behind Asda in Oatlands Avenue, so that it can never be built on.

John Button, 68, who is retired and lives in Cranwell Grove, is EPRA's chairman. He said: "We hope that on the evidence that has been produced we have proved that this land has been used as of right and not by right – and that having proved that this land should be granted town or village green status.

"This, effectively, was a preliminary hearing – if we prove this then there should be another inquiry regarding the exact boundaries of the land and for us to prove that the land has been used for recreational purposes for the required length of time."