Residents have held a protest at a field which has been the subject of a long-running battle over plans to use it for housing with Ceredigion County Council set to deny a bid to turn it into a village green.

A group of residents launched a legal battle with the county council hoping to have the Erw Goch field behind Hafan y Waun designated as a village green in order to protect it from a council bid to build more than 70 new homes in conjunction with Wales and West Housing on the site.

In response to the application, the council brought in external lawyers to fight the village green designation, claiming “statutory incompatibility”.

A report from the solicitor, due to be put before council members on 26 October, found that the “statutory incompatibility” defence was made as “on the balance of probabilities” the land was “acquired for educational purposes” and therefore cannot become a village green.

The Friends of Erw Goch group, who have battled with the council for years over the field, said they “strongly believe, that this argument of ‘statutory incompatibility’ is being used as a legal jargon tool aimed at blinding the applicant and county councillors”.

They held a peaceful protest at the field on Saturday over a move the group called "underhand and immoral."

Sian Richards, the Village Green Applicant said: "We're extremely disappointed, but sadly, not surprised, by the underhand and immoral actions of Council officials and the recommendation made in the report.

"All we ever asked for was that our application be given a fair, unbiased and independent consideration but sadly, this has not been the case."

Tom Kendall said: "The previous two historical Village Green Applications submitted to Ceredigion County Council were handled independently and fairly by external bodies.

"Why is our application being treated differently?

"Of course we are all aware that the council have no intention of using or maintaining this land for educational purposes - the land has been allocated for development and housing in the Councils Local Development Plan and subsequent planning application submitted in 2021 with the Council as co-applicants)."

Councillors are recommended to refuse the application at the meeting later this week.