A treasured piece of community open space has taken a step closer to being granted village green status, that will protect it from any threat of future development.

Cabinet members at Tonbridge and Malling council unanimously voted to endorse a motion from an earlier full council meeting that the borough voluntarily register River Lawn, off River Lawn Road in Tonbridge, as a village green.

The move means members of the public will now get to enjoy the green as their own, by right, in perpetuity.

And even the council, which owns the land, will lose the right to sell it or develop on it, or even to charge for its use.

The motion to full council in February had been presented by Cllr Mark Hood (Green), who spoke again at a meeting last Tuesday urging the cabinet to back the village green status.

But he was pushing on an open door, with the cabinet’s newest member, Cllr Adem Mehmet, saying there was a need to ensure the space was protected, in the light of the imminent local government reorganisation, which he said could pose “a threat” to its future.

The decision does mean that the council will have to abandon its recent attempts at re-wilding the open space, which will revert to parkland.

Cllr Hood said after the meeting: “This is a very significant moment for the town.

“The decision by the cabinet is the culmination of a long-running community campaign led by the Barden Residents' Association and by Keep River Lawn Green which has campaigned for nine years to achieve this protection for the open space.”

Last year, Tonbridge and Malling also voluntarily registered the Upper Castle Fields in the town as a village green.

Cllr Mehmet is the new cabinet member for infrastructure and Tonbridge regeneration, after council leader Matt Boughton held a cabinet reshuffle.

Cllr Robin Betts is now cabinet member for housing, environment and economy; Cllr Martin Coffin for finance, waste and technical services; Cllr Des Keers for community services and Cllr Mike Taylor for planning.

Cllr Kim Tanner has ceased to be a cabinet member following her election as deputy mayor.

The new mayor is Cllr Chris Brown.