Campaigners who have fought for more than 40 years to rescue a piece of land threatened by development are celebrating this week after it was turned into a village green – saving it forever.

The Grange Area Trust bought Widmer Fields, in Hazlemere and Widmer End, five years ago in a bid to save the 42-acre open space from being built on and have just had confirmation from Bucks County Council that it has now been registered as a village green.

In 2013 the Grange Area Trust won the Open Spaces Society’s national Open Space Award for its work to save the fields for the public.

Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, said: “This is a significant moment in the history of Widmer Fields. 

“Village-green status secures this important site for the public for ever. Now it is safe from development and can be enjoyed by local people, and managed for wildlife and natural beauty and its potential for quiet recreation and community activities.

"At 42 acres, this is one of the largest village greens in England. We congratulate the Grange Area Trust, and the activists who preceded the formation of the organisation, for their decades of dedicated work to save this special place."