Campaigners fight to save a stretch of land in Kent
Walkers are fighting to preserve land from a bulldozer
Campaigners fighting to preserve a stretch of land against hundreds of homes in Kent have delivered 800 pages of documents to a forthcoming public inquiry.
They claim the land at Bunyards Farm, near Maidstone, has been in common use by dog walkers, kite flyers and berry pickers for decades.
The campaigners say the papers support the case for protected village green status, instead of 435 houses which have been outlined in the planning permission.
The bundles were delivered ahead of the deadline for submissions and represent hundreds of hours of work by the pressure group, MERlin (Medway Ecological Riverine Link).
The public inquiry is set to be heard at Kent County Council next month.
MERlin activists Chris Passmore and Duncan Edwards say their case satisfies all the criteria needed to be classed as a village green.
But they will need a barrister to take on the brief to make their case at the inquiry.
To win village green status, MERlin campaigners will have to convince the inspector the public has had unimpeded access to the land for at least 20 years.
Witnesses will argue they believe it to be common land with no barriers or signs to suggest it is privately-owned farmland.
It is the last stretch of green space between Aylesford and Allington and already has planning permission for the homes put forward by BDW Trading.
Around 40% of the new dwellings would be classed as “affordable”.