CAMPAIGNERS have lost another battle in their fight to reinstate an open space as a Town Green.

The Society for the Protection of Markham and Little Francis took their case to the Royal Courts of Justice, in the hope of overturning a High Court ruling revoking the area’s protective status.

But hopes were dashed at the Court of Appeal, who ruled yesterday in favour of land owners Betterment Properties LTD.

Gill Taylor, society chairman and Weymouth and Portland Borough Councillor, said: “It’s gutting. We’re extremely disappointed.”

But the group has vowed to continue the fight.

Coun Taylor added: “We lodged an appeal against the decision with the Court of Appeal, but this has not been allowed.

“Obviously, I need to talk to other members of the group, but in all probability we will now be appealing directly to the Supreme Court.”

“Our legal team is still working voluntarily, and that is really quite phenomenal.”

The battle over the fields – 46 acres of grass and open space in Wyke Regis and Westham – dates back over 15 years to the first struggle to have the area defined as a Town Green.

The status was granted by Dorset County Council in 2001, and revoked by the High Court in November 2010, meaning Betterment could submit planning applications for the site.

This latest court battle has seen the society lose an appeal against the removal of the registration of Markham and Little Francis, also known as Curtis Fields.

Coun Taylor said: “This is one of the few open spaces left in Weymouth, and it is of huge value in terms of landscape and wildlife.

“It is used a lot by people for recreational purposes.”

She acknowledged a need for housing, but stressed that this must not be at the expense of open spaces.

She added: “There is no planning permission on the site at the moment, and in any case, it is outside the borough council’s development framework. But this has been going on for so long now, and we will fight on.”

The society is supported by a number of organisations, including the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), the Wyke Protection Society and the Open Spaces Society.

Nicola Hodgeson, case worker at the Open Spaces Society, said: “We are dismayed at this outcome for Markham and Little Francis green, and for the local community who have, for many years, enjoyed this green lung on the edge of the town.

“If left unchallenged, this case poses a threat to the many greens which were registered under the Commons Registration Act, 1965.”

• A spokesman for Betterment Properties said: “Local residents will be allowed to continue to use the affected land for recreation pending development.

“Whilst it is far too early to speculate on the likelihood of or extent of any grant of planning permission, it is probable that the planning authority, in granting permission for development, would insist that an area of land is made available as an open public space.”

He added: “In accordance with its wish to make the affected land available for use by residents in the short to medium term, Betterment will be erecting appropriate signage at a number of vantage points on the land, to permit public access on terms that may be revoked at any time.

“If signs are defaced or torn down, or if the land is vandalised as it has been in the past, then Betterment may well be forced to review its policy of permitting public access beyond the public footpaths which cross the land.”

15 years of protest

• 1994: The first application for the area to be registered as a Town Green is submitted by Joan Horne and the Friends of Markham and Little Francis.

• 1996: The application is refused.

• 2000: A public enquiry is held to decide if the site should be registered, and heard by Dorset County Council.

• 2001: The decision is made to register the site as a Town Green.

• 2005: Betterment Properties LTD buys the site and begins proceedings to revoke the status.

• 2008: The Friends group is reformed as Society for the Protection of Markham and Little Francis to protect the site.

• 2010: The High Court revokes the status of Town Green.

• 2011: The society is given leave to appeal against the High Court ruling.

• 2012: The Court of Appeal upholds the decision of the High Court.