MEMBERS of an action group seeking to turn a patch of land into Dursley’s town green turned out in force to a public hearing.

Defend Dursley’s Green Escarpment, a group with the aim of protecting land at the foot of Stinchcombe Hill from a 69-home development, attended a registration authority hearing at Kingshill House, Dursley, on Tuesday, February 3.

Though this hearing was exclusively concerned with dealing with a procedural matter, DDGE used the opportunity to show their strength of support.

John Keith Andrews, 68, of Garden Suburb, Dursley, spoke on behalf of the applicants as joint chairman of the DDGE steering group with Phil Maynard, of Torch Acre Rise.

On the other side of the room was owner of the land and objector Colin Clutterbuck. Speaking on his behalf was Leslie Blohm QC.

The results of the hearing will decide whether or not the process will continue. The procedural matter being reviewed related to whether or not the applicants for the town green had exceeded a reasonable amount of time when completing their application.

If this is the case there will be no further hearings. Should, however, DDGE come out successful, another meeting will be arranged to weigh up the merits of registering the land as Dursley's town green.

This will entail witnesses submitting statements regarding how they use the area, for what purpose and how frequently.

Mr Maynard said: "Overall I think the hearing went quite well and I'm optimistic about the future.

"We see ourselves as fighting, on behalf of the community, against these big guns. They have people that are some of the top professionals in this field and we're just laypeople trying to do a very complex job.

"For now, the group will go into wait mode and see what happens next."

Also attending the meeting was Stroud MP Neil Carmichael, who gave his support to DDGE as soon as he became aware of the situation.

He said: “I’m right behind them and have been following the process ever since Phil came into my office to tell me what about what was happening.

“It’s a great example of community spirit and an example of how issues like this are really bringing communities together.

“They’re quite right to protect their environment.”

Though an exact date was not given for when the results of the hearing would be revealed, the inspector said it would likely be before the end of the month.