Campaigners seeking to achieve village green status for a patch of redundant farmland were told their case would be determined at a public inquiry.

Villagers in Allington have been pressing for the last two years for a 15-hectare site, adjacent to Beaver Road, to be given the status which would both ensure future public access and protect the land against development.

Members of KCC’s regulation committee met on Friday to consider the arguments put forward by the Medway Ecological Riverine Link (MERLin) on behalf of residents and by a solicitor acting for the landowner, the Andrew Cheale Will Trust.

For village status to be granted, the public has to prove that they have had unrestricted access to the land for at least 20 years.

The campaigners produced witness statements from those who say they had used the land over that time, but the owners disputed there had been unrestricted access, saying the property had been protected by a fence, which was sometimes vandalised.

KCC’s investigating officer, Graham Rusling, concluded the evidence was not decisive either way and recommended a full public inquiry.

Campaigner Duncan Edwards, residents Alison Bundock, of Beaver Road, and Lynne Lawrence of Corbyn Close,as well as county councillors Chris Passmore (Lib Dem) and Tom Cannon (Con) all spoke in favour of the village green status, while Maidstone borough councillor Stanley Forecast (Con) also sent the committee a letter supporting the campaign.

Cllr Passmore said the campaigners were pleased with the outcome.

He said: “We know the residents of Allington have a strong case as witnessed by the passionate evidence given to the panel by Lynne Lawrence and Alison Bundock.

“However some of our evidence is disputed by the landowner. We understand the public inquiry will be held in the spring of next year and could take up to a week.”

He said it gave the campaigners more time to collect yet more witness statements from those who had used Bunyards Farm over the years.

Should the village green campaign fail, developer David Wilson Barratt Homes is already waiting in the wings with an application to build 435 homes on the site.

Cllr Passmore added: “We now need more support to successfully put over our case against a very well funded developer.

“Firstly we need more evidence from those who have accessed the site, particularly from before 2010.

“Some of these potential evidence providers may have moved away from Maidstone, but still have critical evidence that we need.

“They would be in their mid-30s now or older but may have spent some of their childhood playing on what was sometimes known as ‘the dump’.”

He continued: “If you can help, or if you have any information about someone who has perhaps moved away but might be able to help, please ring me, Chris, on 07808 911612, or Duncan Edwards on 07402 549927.

“Secondly, we need more funding. Over the next month will be preparing a budget to establish how much we need to win this David v Goliath challenge.”

Cllr Cannon commented: “It is clear this is a local village green for the people of Allington.

“The committee has had extensive evidence from residents already, but there is more out there.

“What we need now are more testimonials, photos and old videos of residents using the land between 2000 and 2020. Any evidence of public use in the 1990s would also be helpful.”

A KCC spokesman said: “The public inquiry will hopefully be held within six months and is likely to be held at County Hall, depending on availability.

“There is judicial support for holding an inquiry where the facts in an application are disputed. The costs will be borne by KCC.

“However, if the committee had made a decision on Friday and the losing party had decided to appeal that decision, the matter would then have gone to the High Court for a judicial review which would have been much more expensive.”