A public inquiry into whether an area of disused farmland can be declared a village green begins next tomorrow.

Campaigners from the Medway Ecological Riverine Link (MERLin) have spent more than three years gathering evidence from local residents on how they have used the 15 hectares at Bunyards Farm near Allington unhindered as public open space.

But now, their claim is being contested by the land’s owners, the Andrew Cheale Will Trust, and by the developer BDW Trading Ltd, which has an option on the site to build 435 new homes.

The two sides will come together in what has been labelled as a “David and Goliath” battle at a public inquiry at County Hall that begins on Tuesday (March 19) at 10am and is expected to last four days.

County Cllr Chris Passmore (Lib Dem), one of the MERLin campaigners on the village green side, said: “While we have raised over £6k for the legal advice we need, this will be dwarfed by what is spent by the developer who is looking to build over 400 houses on this last patch of green space in west Maidstone.”

To win their case, the campaigners will have to convince Annabel Graham Paul - a government planning inspector and a barrister specialising in planning law – that the public has had unimpeded access to the land, off Beaver Road, for at least 20 years.

Their opponents, who have admitted that for much of the time the land was not secured against public access, nevertheless claim that at periods within the last 20 years it was protected by a fence.

The green campaigners have won the support of the MP for Maidstone and The Weald, Helen Grant, who has visited the site on several occasions.

DAC Beachcroft is a global law firm with headquarters in London. They are representing the landowners and have presented a 400-page document pack to the inquiry in support of their client’s case.

Cllr Passmore said: “This is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure a green space in west Maidstone.”

The hearing will be held in the Lecture Theatre in Sessions House in Maidstone and is open to the public.

Bearsted resident Duncan Edwards will be presenting the case for the village green.

He said: “I have appeared as a witness at a public inquiry before, but presenting the whole case is a massively different kettle of fish.

“I am full of trepidation.”

Nevertheless, he said: ”We are really on top of things. Our team has spent hundreds of hours on this over the past three years, and for the past weeks and months it has been a full-time job.”

The campaigners have gathered testimony from 108 witnesses, and seventeen of them will be appearing in person at the hearing.

Mr Edwards said: “I hope we have a lot of supporters in the public gallery.

“The issue will be decided on matters of law and not just on whether the public thinks it’s a good idea or not. Still it would be an encouragement for the team to see some support.”

DAC Beachcroft has not responded to a request for comment.