A PIECE of open land to be designated as a protected recreational site in commemoration of the Queen's diamond jubilee is being sought by Tavistock Town Council.

The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge is being led by Prince William — the council has been contacted by Alison Moore-Gwyn, of the Fields in Trust organisation, to see if it would like to get involved.

Alison said: 'The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge is an exciting grassroots programme to mark the diamond jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics and was the first project to receive official endorsement by the Queen.

'The aim of the programme is to protect 2,012 recreational sites — the Queen Elizabeth Fields — for communities across the country by 2012.

'This network of fields will be a successor to the King George V Memorial Fields that continue to bring benefit to communities today, more than half a century after their creation.'

All councils are being asked to nominate a site to be included in the programme. They can include small, informal open spaces, parks, children's play areas, wildlife areas, woodland or nature trials, bike trails, playing fields or open spaces within new developments.

A £1-million fund has been made available to the project, which will help support improvement works at the nominated sites.

Alison said outdoor spaces were 'hugely important to the health and well-being of our communities' and she hoped the council would get involved in such a 'high-profile legacy programme'.

Cllr Brian Trew, during last week's meeting of the town's properties committee, said as an 'unreserved royalist' he felt the project was 'a very good idea'.

He said: 'I feel we should choose the very best of what we have to bear Queen Elizabeth's name and I think Whitchurch Down is the very best.

'You have everything going on up there, cricket, golf, cycling, walking, riding, it's a wonderful recreation area.

'I shouldn't think there are many other towns that have that sort of thing on their books.'

But Cllr John Sellis said Whitchurch Down, as a common and part of Dartmoor National Park, already enjoyed protected status and to nominate it for the project would be a waste.

He suggested smaller areas might be more worthy of nomination, particularly if hundreds of extra houses were to be built in the area over the coming decades.

'It's all about protecting something, it's not about giving something a grandiose name,' he said.

Cllr Philip Sanders said he thought more information on the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge was needed before accepting Cllr Trew's recommendation.

Cllr Sue Bailey suggested members investigate the facts given on the project's website before making a firm decision.

Cllr Trew's proposal was defeated and the committee agreed further research should take place.