CEREDIGION County Council is continuing its legal fight with residents over a bid to have a field it owns and has earmarked for housing in Waunfawr designated as a village green – with a report warning the battle could result in a costly public inquiry.

A consultation into the plan to save Erw Goch field – which has been the subject of a scheme to build scores of houses – was held last year, with a bid to “protect the open space for future generations” being led by local residents who use the field regularly for a variety of activities.

The land, which backs on to Hafan y Waun, has been a “recreational space for the community to enjoy football, walking, wildlife and the benefits of fresh air for over 30 years and was especially vital during the pandemic”, the Friends of Erw Goch group said.

At a full council meeting on Thursday, members will consider a report from independent barrister Katherine Barnes, brought in by the council as it bids to fight the claim.

The council is fighting the village green designation, claiming “statutory incompatibility” – with the land’s commercial value plummeting as its use is severely restricted.

The barrister will first rule on statutory incompatibility – a situation that was tested in the Supreme Court in 2020, which found on behalf of Lancashire council in similar circumstances saying “the test is not whether the land has been allocated by statute for statutory purposes, but that the land has been acquired for statutory purposes”.

Ceredigion council is basing its argument on that point.

Should the barrister find that statutory incompatibility is not met, “it is appropriate for the evidence to be tested through cross-examination at a public inquiry”, the report said.

If it is met, “the time and expense of a public inquiry can be avoided”, the report adds. “The robust testing of the evidence [through a public inquiry] is particularly important in this case given that Ceredigion County Council is both decision-maker and landowner.”

Ceredigion MS Elin Jones and MP Ben Lake have both offered support to the group hoping to achieve village green status.

Earlier this year local member, Cllr John Roberts said it is “immoral to use public money to oppose public opinion” and Cllr Paul Hinge added employing a barrister was a “brutal tool” that would “create more division within the area”.

The site has been designated in the Local Development Plan as an area for housing and Wales and West Housing Association’s hybrid application was discussed in July 2021. The plan for 77 homes received dozens of objections when it was submitted.

Wales and West Housing said the development would facilitate ”a range of affordable and open market housing tenures” and provide a learning disability facility which would off­er “long-term benefits to repatriate a number of out-of-county placements, whilst at the same time delivering significant overall cost savings” to the council.