Long running plans to turn a former cricket field in Cowbridge into a new town green look set to be refused.

An application to turn the former Cowbridge Grammar School Cricket Field on land at The Butts into a town green was initially lodged to Vale of Glamorgan Council in 2014.

Cowbridge Comprehensive School Trust, which owns the land objected to the proposal.

The council has recommended that the application, made by Friends of the Grammar School Cricket Field, be refused.

If the application is approved despite these recommendations, the land will be registered as a town green and will be free for use by members of the public for a period of at least 20 years.

The applicants argue that the field was used for recreation by local sports clubs for many years and that other members of the community have also made use of the land.

A statement by the Friends of the Grammar School Cricket Field attached to the application reads: "Recognition of its status as a town green would recognise the legitimate interests of members of the community in continuing to undertake such activities, which require it to remain as a publicly accessible open space in the future."

A report by the council states that the application has been recommended for refusal because the applicant "has failed to satisfy the statutory tests under section 15(2) of the 2006 [Commons Act]" and that not enough residents have used the field for sports or recreation during the "relevant 20 year period" – that is from December 1994 to December 2014.

The application will be decided at a Public Protection Licensing Committee meeting on Tuesday, July 12.