Following a sustained seven-year effort by area inhabitants, a neighbourhood recreation facility will receive protected village green designation.
A portion of Sunnybank Lane Recreation Ground in Thornbury cannot now be developed following Leeds City Council’s ruling.
The application submitted by the Sunnybank and Woodhall Fields Community Action Group in 2019 encountered resistance from Bradford Council, which holds ownership of the site.
An inquiry conducted in May determined that town or village green status could be granted under the Commons Act legislation.
Leeds councillors, acting in their role as the Commons Registration Authority for the parcel, delivered the definitive verdict.
Guidance provided to members stated that land qualifies for TVG classification when certain requirements are satisfied, notably that a substantial number of individuals have used the space for recreational activities for two decades and persist in doing so.
The principal legal officer Philippa Plumtree-Varley indicated that while Bradford maintains ownership, such ownership bears no relevance to whether the land should receive TVG registration.
No representatives from Bradford Council attended the Leeds West plans panel gathering.
Documentation presented to the panel confirmed that the applicant Kulvinder Manik supplied photographic material, surveys and a signed petition when lodging the 2019 submission.
The report clarified that despite the Bradford postal designation, the site falls within Leeds’s metropolitan boundary, though situated near the border with Bradford.
Panel member Dan Cohen, a Conservative councillor for Alwoodley, introduced the officers’ proposal to award village green status to the section identified as Plot 6.
His motion received endorsement from fellow members.
At the sitting held at Leeds Civic Hall, elected members voted unanimously to approve the designation.
Andrew Carter, a Conservative representative for Calverley and Farsley, was among those backing the submission.
Both Cohen and Carter acknowledged the considerable dedication demonstrated by local residents throughout the extended process.