CAMPAIGNERS battling to halt a proposed housing development on a church field have applied for the land to be designated as a village green.

Friends of Walmersley Village (FOWV) hope that if their application to Bury Council is approved, the open space at Springside Road adjacent to Christ Church Walmersley will be Bury’s first village green.

They say such a status would effectively protect the open space and prevent it from being earmarked for the building of 44 homes.

Earlier this year, it was reported the church could sell the land for £1.1 million and that the Affordable Housing Consultancy and V9 Developments were working with Great Places Housing Group on the development plan. The money raised would allow the church to upgrade its hall to provide a community facility.

Now, however, it seems that this proposal could be scuppered if Christ Church officials put the land on the open market to generate better offers.

FOWV say the church has rejected several plans they created which would have saved the field, while enabling Christ Church to generate the finances required. On the village green bid, Friends chairman Paul Denney said: “At a previous community meeting, the outcome of a vote was more than 96 per cent in favour of submitting the application. This was reaffirmed at the most recent meeting when the community insisted that the application be submitted at the first opportunity.”

Committee member, Steve Tilbrook added: “This is a bittersweet moment for us. We feel we have been placed in an impossible position and the only course of action left open to us now is to submit our village green application.”

Steve Fallon, director of Affordable Homes Consultancy, said: “Both V9 and Great Places Housing Group are still committed to submitting a planning application, which has been ready to go in for several months now, and to acquire the site with the intention of building it out as a largely mixed tenure affordable housing development.

“However, Christ Church PCC (Parochial Church Council) have, it appears, decided they now no longer wish to proceed down this route and seem intent on putting the site back on the open market for best offers.

“Needless to say, both ourselves and Great Places feel very aggrieved and would hope that the PCC reconsider its position and continue to work with us as has been the case over the last 18 months. We are not sure what will happen next.”

A church spokesman told the Bury Times: “The PCC will be taking advice about their response to the village green application and, in the meantime, continues to consider various options.”

A Bury Council spokesman said: “The council is checking that the application is valid. Should this be the case, the formal process of advertising and notifying in accordance with the appropriate legislative procedures will take place.”