Calls to preserve a patch of land in Horsham as a village green to be considered by West Sussex County Council

An application to have the land in Collingwood Road classified as a village green will be put to a meeting of the planning and rights of way committee on Tuesday March 19.

Residents started their fight to protect the land from development in 2022 when it was put up for sale.

The application to the council stated that it had been used for years for exercise, walking and training dogs, sporting activities,social occasions such as birthday parties, community events such as ‘clap for carers’ during the first Covid-19 lockdown, community celebrations for VE Day and the late Queen’s jubilees, and seasonal activities such as carolsinging.

While residents felt this should allow the land to qualify as a village green, the recommendation from the council’s director of law and assurance was for it not to happen.

His report to the committee said the application failed the legal test on account of the land being classed as highway and its use ‘as of right’ for sports and pastimes ‘has not been proven’.

He said that ‘no useful purpose would be served’ in holding a public inquiry, adding: “The recommendation is therefore that the application to register Collingwood Road Green as a village green should be refused.”

The new owner, who bought the land in May 2023, said she intended to develop it, but offered residents first refusal if they wished to buy it from her.

The report to the committee said the landowner had planning to erect fencing to stop people from accessing the land – but she had been told by the council that this was not allowed as it was highway land.

The meeting will be held at County Hall, Chichester, starting at 10.30am.