A playing field in Winchester will be recognised as a village green if permission is granted by Hampshire County Council.

An application has been submitted to have the popular Davis Playing Fields, located near the Badger Farm Sainsbury's, recognised as a central hub for the area.

Badger Farm Parish Council applied for the accolade because residents have been using the space for leisure and sport for "a period of at least twenty years".

There is also a playground on the site, which is just off Lark Hill Rise in the residential neighbourhood in south Winchester.

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The site of the "Davis Kickabout" (Image: Google) Residents' right to object was also included in the application: "Any person wishing to object to the registration of the land as a town or village green should send a statement of the facts on which the objection is based to the Countryside Access Team at the above email address or addressed to Hampshire County Council, The Castle, Winchester, SO23 8UJ, on or before 3rd January 2025.

"Any representations that are to be taken into account by the Authority in reaching a decision on the application cannot be treated as confidential and will be copied to the applicant for comment, and may be disclosed to other interested parties."

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The application describes the land as follows: "An area of approximately 0.85 acres comprising part of land known as 'Davis Kickabout' or 'Davis Playing Fields', bounded on its west side by Lark Hill Rise and on its east and north side by tarmac footpaths running through the Playing Fields, in the parish of Badger Farm, near Winchester, as shown outlined in red on the accompanying plan."

In 2021, the Davis Kickabout, as it is also known, was bought at auction by an undisclosed private purchaser, raising fears it may have been bought by a housing developer.

Residents in Badger Farm had assumed the David Kickabout was owned by the city council after the estate was built in the 1980s. The transfer was never made and the land was sold when the owner Davis Development folded.