A last-gasp effort by campaigners to stop houses being built on open space in Sible Hedingham has failed.

In 2013, villagers applied to Essex County Council to turn land off Oxford Meadow into a village green to stop Greenfields housing association building two affordable homes there.

The application, by a group of residents who claimed the land had been a public open space for generations, halted work on the site after planning permission was awarded by Braintree Council in 2012.

Village green status would have thwarted any development plans.

A public inquiry into the application, which saw campaigners and Braintree Council officers arguing for and against village green status, was held in January.

On Friday, Essex County Council accepted the planning inspector’s recommendation that the application be rejected.

See the Halstead Gazette for the full story.