Ref. 29680-10RESIDENTS in Winterbourne Bassett are facing an ultimatum over the future of the village's cricket ground.

For more than 20 years, the Piggery field in the village near Avebury has been used as a recreational area by villagers and as a pitch for the Winterbourne Bassett Cricket Club.

But the landowner millionaire Austrian Count Konrad Goess-Saurau, who established the Marlborough Cup horse race has applied for permission to build a dozen houses on the edge of the field.

The houses, which would be a mixture of detached and semi-detached, would be located along a 30-metre stretch next to the road through the village.

To consult the villagers, the count set up the Winterbourne Bassett Village Trust a group of four unelected and unpaid trustees who administer and maintain the land while the count's company Everset Holdings sells the land.

In a letter to residents, the four trustees have offered an ultimatum.

The letter says if permission is granted the village will receive 10 per cent of the sale value of the land approximately £90,000, which can be used to pay for the development recreational facilities.

It also adds that, if approved, the field will not be developed any further than the 12 houses.

But, if planning permission is not granted, the village will lose the use of the field forever and will not get the £90,000 for the recreational development.

Resident John Austin said he had no problem with the building of new homes but felt it was wrong to go about it this way.

"This kind of big stick approach is not very nice in my opinion," he said.

"I have no objection to the new houses but just to the way that the landowner is going about it."

Gerald Long, who lives opposite the Piggery field, was one of the residents who helped set up the field as a cricket pitch.

He said: "I have a number of concerns. I think there is no need to build these homes on the cricket pitch it is open countryside.

"The 12 houses also mean 12 or more cars so parking will be difficult on what already is a narrow country lane.

"By having these homes, I don't want to see the village lengthened like Brinkworth."

Roger Bullock, one of the trustees, said: "The houses may not even get planning permission but the trustees want to ensure that there are recreational facilities for the people of the village.

"I don't think we have gone the wrong way and, in fact, I think the landowner could have done a lot worse.

"We are aiming to try and keep the village feel.Other villages in the area have become too developed, we just want to preserve it and that may be helped by having this small number of homes."

Count Goess-Saurau was unavailable for comment.

Anthony Osborne