ANXIOUS residents have banded together in a bid to stop bulldozers rolling onto a popular Swanage greenfield site.

Herston Fields has been outlined as one of Purbeck District Council’s preferred areas for development, as the town needs 200 new dwellings to address a critical housing shortage.

But campaigners, who have vowed to fight development, have started an online Save Our Herston Fields forum on Facebook.

In the past fortnight, close to 300 people have joined the group.

Campaign founder Becky Campbell, who lives with her husband and two-year-old daughter Keren, said: “In Herston they have already taken away some of our green land, with the Prospect Business Park.

“Herston Fields are our green space.

“We are worried we are going to be hemmed in by development all around us.

“Development here would change the nature of the town.

“This is the main gateway into Swanage and the Jurassic Coast.”

A district council planning spokesman told the Daily Echo now was the time for residents to let their feelings be known.

He added: “The consultation is not about actually allocating sites – we’re just saying to members of the public, ‘Look, we’ve had these sites submitted to us by landowners. These are the numbers required to meet affordable housing needs. Where do you want this development to go?’ “Certainly nothing is set in stone, but there is a critical shortage of housing and they have to go somewhere.”

Ideally, planners want to build 100 dwellings on the old grammar school site and another 100 on Herston Fields.

The consultation ends in July, when responses will be collated and put to council members.

Mrs Campbell says the fields are almost never empty.

“There are always dog walkers, there are kids’ dens in the hedges.

“It is a really well-used area.”

Visit dorsetforyou.com to comment on the Purbeck planning consultation.