THE battle of Wesley Guild in Leigh has been lost.

Local people who have fought a four year battle to save the ancient plot of land at Beech Walk have been told their application to have it declared a village green has been turned down.

A three-day hearing at Leigh Town Hall had four councillors listening to arguments by protesters and the council who sold the land to house builders Wainhomes.

The panel rejected the residents' application on three points: that it had not been proved that Pennington people has used the land "as a right", that people from outside the locality had used the land, and that it was not proved that Pennington is a locality.

The formal application was made by Geraldine Turner of Beech Crescent, whose house overlooked the green - which now has houses built upon it.

A statement from Wesley Preservation Group said: "To those who witnessed the three days hearing it was clear from the tone and atmosphere that the Preservation Group were regarded as nuisances rather than representatives of the community. It is that, as much as the outcome, which upsets us all.

"Wigan Council describes itself as 'The Caring Borough' and highlights its 'partnership with the community'. Not once in this whole sorry saga has the council shown that it cares or that it gives a damn about the community."

The statement added that despite a council ruling that the land was surplus to requirements nobody took the trouble to ask the community for their opinion.

It goes on: "The losers are local people, not just of Pennington, but of Leigh. Another open space has disappeared, as it has done off Holden Road, Atherleigh, and now the Brooklands site.

"The losers are the future generations of kids who will not know what it is to have the freedom to kick a football, fly a kite, or just to enjoy wandering across a green space. Those of us who are in middle age will remember happy times spent with our pals paddling in brooks, sledging down hills, building dens or just being out of the house, off the street and in a little world of our own.

"But Wigan Council are also losers. They have lost the respect of many local communities. Their short sighted approach has not solved problems, but created more. They appear to be only interested in commercial development at the expense of everything else."

Despite the outcome, however, the group still insist they proved from surveys and photographic evidence that Wesley Guild had been used for lawful sports and pastimes for the required 20 years.

But a council statement said: "Wesley Guild will not be registered as a Village Green. In the opinion of the sub-committee, appointed for the purpose by Wigan MBC Public Protection, Committee, the applicant failed to prove that the land had been used by inhabitants of a particular locality as of right for the 20 years between 1972 and 1992, the period on which the applicant chose to base her submission.

"The determination of the Wesley Guild application has now been heard twice by separate and independent panels. The matter has been closely and carefully argued with all parties legally represented, and especial care was taken with both applications to ensure that only arguments relevant to the legal points at issue were allowed to come before the sub-committee. The council is therefore satisfied that it has done everything possible in its power to see that justice has been done and can be seen to have been done."

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