A GROUP of campaigners looking to save a Waunfawr field from becoming a housing development have said they are “disappointed” after a consultation into granting Village Green status was extended.

The Erw Goch Village Green application was due to finish on 11 August but has since been extended to 30 September by Ceredigion council.

The Friends of the Erw Goch Field said the decision is “questionable”.

“This disappointing development reiterates our grave concerns as to the significant conflict of interest that Ceredigion County Council has in relation to the Erw Goch field and again, it clearly demonstrates their inability to be impartial,” the group said.

Ceredigion County Council is currently considering the Village Green Status application for the Erw Goch Field located behind Hafan y Waun care home in Aberystwyth.

The plan from the council, in conjunction with Wales and West Housing, to build 77 homes on the field received dozens of objections when an application was submitted earlier this year.

A planning decision was deferred by planning committee members last month to allow time for the application to be decided.

Ceredigion County Council said it “has considered its position regarding any potential conflicts of interests, and ensured that appropriate arrangements are in place to ensure separation of roles.”

“The local authority is in contact with the applicant to gather further information on the location, and as a registration authority, a statutory process will be followed,” the authority said.

During the initial six-week consultation period the bid for Village Green Status was backed by Ceredigion MP Ben Lake and Ceredigion MS Elin Jones.

The pair visited the Erw Goch field in July and met with local residents.

In a letter of support to Ceredigion council, Mr Lake said: “I was struck by the testimony of residents, who not only explained how they made full use of the field for the purposes of leisure and outdoor exercise, but who also shared wonderful accounts of the many community events that has taken place on the field for decades.”

The campaign to maintain the field as a green space is being led by local residents who use the field regularly for a variety of activities.

The land 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.

“Securing this green piece of land will have significant benefits,” the group added.

Wales and West Housing said the development would facilitate ”a range of affordable and open market housing tenures” as well as provide a new 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.