THE oldest national conservation body in Britain this week called on communities in West Devon to identify open spaces which are precious to them, in an effort to save them from development.

The call by the Open Spaces Society came at a meeting in Princetown, when the group?s general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, asked delegates to consider registering open spaces as ?greens?.

Speaking at the WestDEN meeting, Ms Ashbrook said: ?Once the predators apply for planning permission it is probably too late. Communities should be identifying now those areas of land, no matter how small, that they use for informal recreation ? one day they may be under threat.?

Ms Ashbrook told the meeting that provided it could be proved that a piece of land had been used for 20 years without permission and without being stopped, the users could apply to the registration authority, for example, Devon County Council, to register them as a green.

She said: ?The Open Spaces Society can help with the process. Once registered, the land is safe from development because nineteenth century legislation makes it illegal to encroach on a green.

?Greens are not just the traditional, village centre places where cricket is played. They are any piece of land which has been used by local people for informal recreation, such as walking the dog, kicking a ball, watching birds or picking blackberries.?

Ms Ashbrook said registration could take time and even involve a public inquiry, so it was wise to get land secured as soon as possible, before it was threatened by development.

?Don?t wait until a planning application is submitted,? she warned.

Registrations of greens are carried out under section 13 of the Commons Registration Act 1965. To qualify, the land in question must have been used by a significant number of local inhabitants for ?lawful sports and pastimes? for at least 20 years. The inhabitants must not have been stopped or asked permission to use the land.

The Open Spaces Society is currently advising campaigners in several Devon districts on this issue, and residents in Carlyon Bay in Cornwall who are fighting to save the beach from development.

The Open Spaces Society was founded in 1865 and campaigns to protect common land, village greens, open spaces, public paths and people?s right to enjoy them.