A new campaign group will meet early this week to fight against a proposal to build houses on one of the last greenfield sites in Oban.
The leafy valley which sits between two developments in the densely populated Soroba housing area could soon be concreted over to make way for another development.
TSL Contractors applied to Argyll and Bute Council for permission to build 44 affordable homes at Lonan Drive.
The recreational area, popular with dog walkers, links Lonan Drive with Feochan Gardens and is a core path leading to Colonsay Terrace and the rest of the larger Soroba housing estate.
At a public meeting in the town on Thursday night, a new committee to keep the site as a recreational area was formed. Around 100 people attended the meeting and the committee plans to meet again early this week.
A spokesman for the committee said: “There was total unanimity that we want it retained as a green space.
“We think there are grounds within the local development plan for the council to exercise judgement and keep it as a recreational space.
“A committee was formed and we will continue to campaign, part of which will include engaging with the new local development plan to have that area reclassified.”
The council’s planning officers have recommended that planning permission in principle be granted, as the area is designated for development in the local plan.
But due to the high number of objections from local residents, 42 – including one from Oban Community Council – planners have recommended that a public discretionary hearing take place before councillors make a final decision. The date of the hearing is still to be fixed.
The objectors say that Soroba is already a densely populated area and the development would increase congestion on the road. The area roads authority has raised no objection and a traffic impact assessment submitted in support of the application concluded that the traffic generation from the proposed development would be low and negligible.
There are also concerns that the site is not ideal for building on because it is in a valley and houses would not enjoy much daylight during the day, and there are conncerns over it being infested with the invasive plant Japanese Knotweed.
It is home to bats, red squirrel, deer, eagles, hedgehogs, owls, foxes and butterflies.
No objection has been raised by the council’s biodiversity officer.
