HUNDREDS of people living in the Stratton area of Cirencester have banded together to preserve an area of open grassland near their homes as a place of recreation for future generations.

The quaintly-named the Humpty Dumps, because if its very uneven surface, is a large open space between The Whiteway and Bowling Green Avenue, surrounded on three sides by houses.

In January 2010 formal planning advice was sought by developer Baylight Properties about houses being built on the site, a part of which is a former play area and owned by Cirencester Town Council.

The advice was that any application was likely to be refused and the surrounding residents then formed themselves into a lobby group called Friends of the Humpty Dumps.

To protect the land from further development plans the group, which has more than 100 members, has now applied to have the Humpty Dumps registered as a new village green.

The grounds are that the land has been used for recreation by the people of the area for more than 20 years and it should be preserved for future generations to enjoy in the same way.

Village green status, which is decided by the county council, would protect the land from development for ever.

Tim Bennett, on the committee of Friends of the Humpty Dumps, told the Standard the group was not against more housing but wanted to ensure that children in the area would always have somewhere safe to go.

"It is a place where children can go and play in complete safety and we want to keep it like that," he said this week.

The application was before the planning committee of Cirencester Town Council for comment this week.

The committee decided, however, that in view of the fact that the town council was a landowner in this case and there was a hefty pile of paperwork accompanying the application, it should be considered by the full council.

Members of the public can view the application at the town council offices in Dyer Street, Cirencester during normal opening hours.

It will be considered in detail at the next meeting of the full council on Tuesday, June 11.