Victory in struggle to keep Widdrington Station village green

Oct 19 2009 by David Black, The Journal

A CAMPAIGN by people in a Northumberland village to secure special protection for an area of open land at the heart of their community has ended in success.

Residents and parish councillors in Widdrington Station near Morpeth sought to have the land in Grange Road officially designated as a village green, to safeguard it against any future threat of housing development.

They took up the cudgels last year when the land – used by local children as a play area – was threatened with a bid to build seven bungalows on it.

They went through the statutory process of seeking official registration as a village green, and now county councillors have approved the application.

An objection had been submitted by local housing association Castle Morpeth Housing, which inherited the land from the former borough council two years ago.