Highley villagers are on the brink of losing their bid to register a plot as a village green. Campaigners had hoped to register the Quarry Field land to prevent housing being built on it.

Their hopes, however, could be dashed after an independent inspector recommended Shropshire County Council refuse the application and not add the land, which is next to Jubilee Drive and Netherton Lane, to the register of town and village and greens.

Council officers will be making the recommendation to Shirehall’s planning committee when it meets on Tuesday.

The application was submitted by villagers Rosemarie Austin, Roger Powell and Wallace Betteridge and a public inquiry held in August heard the land had been used by villagers for sports and pastimes for at least 20 years.

The inspector said, however, that although the land had been used for sports and pastimes, it had not been used with “sufficient frequency, intensity and continuity” and not by enough villagers.

An objection to the application was lodged by solicitors Wragge & Co, acting on behalf of landowners George Wimpey UK Ltd.

The news will also come as a blow to officials at Highley Rugby Football Club who were hoping to use the land to build new sports pitches.

Club bosses had applied for planning permission to create the new facilities.

Cyril Bache, district councillor for Highley, said he was disappointed to hear the application to give the land village green status was set to be turned down.

“This has been going on for years now,” he said.