A BID to take town green status away from Yeadon Banks has been dealt a blow after appeal court judges decided that legal tests for protection had been satisfied.

Their ruling that evidence can come from two neighbourhoods rather than just one has been hailed as an important step forward not just for Yeadon but for other communities.

But the application to register the five acres of open space as a town green is still not decided following a Court of Appeal judgement last week.

Doug Jones, of Keep Yeadon Banks Green (Keybag) applied in 2004 to register the land as a green on the grounds that it had been used by local people for informal recreation without challenge for 20 years.

Leeds City Council, the registration authority for town and village greens, invited barrister Alun Alesbury to hold an inquiry into the application which was opposed by the owner of part of the land, Leeds Group plc, along with David Wilson Homes who wanted to buy the land for development. Registration as a green makes development illegal.

After Mr Alesbury ruled that the land be registered as a green, the landowner appealed to the High Court and lost, but then also appealed to the Court of Appeal.

The three Appeal Court judges decided, by two to one, that the legal tests for registering the land as a green were satisfied. These included a ruling that the evidence from people who were using the green for recreation could come from two neighbourhoods, rather than one. Leeds Group plc had argued that they must come from only one neighbourhood.

But one matter has been reserved for a later hearing – the landowner’s contention that, as the greens law changed during the qualifying 20-year period, he was unfairly prejudiced and therefore that the registration should be quashed.

Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, which helped Keybag with its case said: “We are pleased that the Court of Appeal has ruled that the evidence of recreational use may come from more than one neighbourhood. This is significant for urban greens, where users generally come from a number of surrounding areas. It is an important step forward in the interpretation of the criteria for registering greens and will assist those who are considering making an application.

“We await with interest the Appeal Court’s ruling on the matter of prejudice to the landowner.”

Mr Jones said: “It is a good result and I am very pleased with it – but it’s not over yet. We have won the battle but the war goes on.”

The council, which owns part of the land, accepted an inspector’s report and agreed to include Yeadon Banks on its town and village green register following a public inquiry in November 2006.

The Leeds Group argued that that council decision was wrong because the people using the land came from two distinct neighbourhoods rather than a single one.