GREEN space at Boyd Avenue, Dereham, cannot be built on because a legal agreement exists protecting it from development, it was claimed this week. The revelation that the site could be covered by a covenant written up by the builders of the estate in the early 1960s was made as members of Breckland Council's cabinet met to discuss the building potential of 12 pieces of land in the district.

GREEN space at Boyd Avenue, Dereham, cannot be built on because a legal agreement exists protecting it from development, it was claimed this week.

The revelation that the site could be covered by a covenant written up by the builders of the estate in the early 1960s was made as members of Breckland Council's cabinet met to discuss the building potential of 12 pieces of land in the district.

Councillors who have earmarked £130,000 to spend on a consultants' evaluation before submitting planning applications, agreed to delay any moves on the site until more can be uncovered about the covenant claims.

To add to the drama, ward councillors for Boyd Avenue, Robin Goreham and Michael Fanthorpe, stormed out of the meeting claiming they were not being listened to, in front of about 40 people who had attended the meeting to hear the fate of the land they live near to.

Mr Fanthorpe, who told the meeting about the possible covenant, said: “The estate was built as a showcase of how to build a town and urban development.

“When everyone bought their homes they all contributed a small sum so they could hand it over to Breckland as open space, not for it to be built on.

“There is a covenant that states it shouldn't be built on. This piece of land is sacrosanct.”

Other councillors argued that all 11 sites should be treated the same as they all belonged to all the taxpayers of Breckland and were assets that needed to be examined, no matter where they were, to be fair to everyone.

A repeated suggestion that the land be transferred to Dereham Town Council to safeguard it as open space was not taken forward.

It was still agreed to take all the other 10 sites forward and spend £130,000 through consultants to assess the sites and look to gain planning permission.