RESIDENTS have spoken of their dismay at losing the fight to protect their community's last open space.

Retired welder Fred Smith had been backed by neighbours on the High Grange Estate, in Gilesgate Moor, Durham.

He had applied for village green status for a small plot of land between their homes and the A690 dual carriageway.

But Durham County Council rejected the application on the grounds that significant use could not be demonstrated by locals.

Mr Smith said: "We are really disappointed by the decision. It is the last little bit of green left at Gilesgate Moor.

"More than half a dozen residents turned up at the meeting to show their support. We will now be examining our options."

The 3.5-acre site, which was farmland until the estate was built by developer William Leech in the 1960s, is rough grassland said to be used by local people for walking, exercising their dogs and by children.

Mr Smith's application was backed by 26 people, of whom 24 live in neighbouring streets.

It was opposed by site owners David Hutchinson and Terence Bates, of Fieldhouse Lane, Durham, who acquired the land from William Leech in February 2003.

They were refused planning permission by Durham City Council to develop homes on the site last year, a decision they unsuccessfully appealed.

Refusing planning permission, the city council said that while the site had no designation as protected open space, a housing development was considered an unacceptable form of development because of its greenfield nature.

Reporting to the county council, deputy chief executive Andrew North said the fact that 24 locals backed the bid on an estate with an adult population of 1,195 did not demonstrate significant use.

He also said there was no evidence of sport being played on the land, and that the state of the grass precluded anything other than walking on the few paths crossing the site