RESIDENTS' hopes of preserving a village green could be scuppered at a planning hearing.
Campaigners in Pentrefelin, Glan Conwy applied in May for a stretch of grass to be granted village green status in the hope of protecting it from development.
The application has been contested by Cartrefi Conwy, which has owned the land since it was transferred to them from Conwy County Borough Council in 2008.
The issue will go to a meeting of the council’s planning committee today (Wednesday).
Dan Worsley, a Glan Conwy community councillor who lodged the original application, called for the issue to be handled at an independent inquiry.He believes supporters of the application could have difficulty putting their case forward because of the close links between the council and Cartrefi Conwy.
He said: “The objection put forward by Cartrefi Conwy would take 20 minutes to read, and we’d only have three minutes to respond. I just feel we’re not going to get a fair hearing at the planning committee, and little chance to make a case.”
Cartrefi Conwy object to the application on the legal basis that under the Commons Act 2006, the land would have to have been used by the public “as of right” - a right enjoyed by villagers to the exclusion of others - for sports and pastimes for a period of at least 20 years.
Given that up until 2008 the land fell under Conwy’s own byelaws, any use of the green would have been “by right”, and opponents argue that this would fail the test allowing it to become a village green.