POOLE councillors are set to vote on whether to drop the authority’s opposition to a controversial town green application.

Currently, Borough of Poole leisure officers are pursuing an objection to Baiter and Whitecliff gaining town green status.

The Parkstone Bay Residents Group made the application in a bid to protect the open space from development.

However, following the local elections, Lib Dem councillor Philip Eades believes councillors will not support the objection and has lodged a motion to go before the next full council meeting.

This motion states: “Given the change in political balance of the council since local elections on May 5 and the unlikelihood that a majority of Poole Borough councillors are in favour of the council continuing to object to town green applications, council resolves to instruct its legal and leisure officers to withdraw their objection to the Baiter and Whitecliff Town Green application.”

Cllr Eades says it is important that residents know where all new councillors stand on the issue “not just for Baiter and Whitecliff, but for all of Poole’s open spaces”.

He added: “If the majority of local councillors are in favour of town and village greens, it cannot be right for the council to continue objecting to them.”

The first application to go through the process, Branksome Rec, ended in defeat for residents earlier this year. However, an expensive judicial review of this decision is being sought over crucial matters of law raised.

The Campaign for Planning Sanity launched the legal action to clarify a point of law, which arises in similar cases all over the country and has never been settled. The Baiter and Whitecliff application is pending.