CAMPAIGNERS were last night celebrating a surprise victory in their fight to save an open space from development.

Durham county councillors had been advised to reject an application for a piece of land in Consett, known as Top of the Park, to be registered as a village green.

But members of the licensing registration and general purposes committee, spearheaded by Councillor Clive Robson, voted 6-2 in favour of the residents.

A separate application for the nearby Blue Heaps site will be decided at a future meeting.

Friends of Blue Heaps chairwoman Helen Steadman said last night: "This is an amazing victory and has made nearly three years of campaigning worthwhile.

"We are now trying to get hold of the Derwentside District Council enforcement officer to make the developers, Strathmore Homes, take down the fence, since the land is now to be registered as a village green.

"This gives us fresh hope for nearby Blue Heaps, the fate of which has yet to be decided."

Coun Robson said: "This is an astounding result for the residents of north Consett.

"It remains to be seen whether Strathmore Homes will appeal to the House of Lords - but it will be at a considerable cost if they decide to do so. Our advice to them would be to cut and run and to restore the picturesque site and to reopen access to the public."

The developer bought the land for housing from Derwentside College in 2002, part of the old college site, and construction has already begun.

Residents argued that both areas, near Blackhill and Consett Park, had been used as public open spaces for decades and applied to have them registered as common land.

However, a public inquiry last year concluded that both applications should be thrown out.

Strathmore Holdings Limited group director Alex Johnston said the company was surprised that councillors had chosen to ignore the findings of Charles George QC, a "leading expert in the field", as well as the authority's own professional legal team.

He added: "Strathmore Holdings are considering the matter with our own legal team as to applying for a judicial review through the courts.

"However, ongoing residential development will continue while the question of this area is resolved."

Strathmore is building 95 executive homes on the former college site, after it won planning permission in 2002.

The Top of the Park was expected to become part of that development with five houses.