15134/1A GROUP of Devizes pensioners has pledged money to raise enough cash to buy the former allotment land at Spitalcroft, where a developer wants to build at least 150 homes.

Margaret Alston, who has pledged £100 a year for five years, is aware that the cost of buying the land could be in excess of £1 million but she said she is not being put off by the scale of the problem.

She said: "I know it is a large amount of money to raise, but if 2,000 people in the Devizes area were all prepared to do what I am doing, we would have the money."

She intends to apply to the National Lottery for funding and is going to approach the national media with the story.

Mrs Alston, who lives on the Jump Farm estate, said: "We want to frighten the developer. There is nothing to stop them coming back time and time again until they finally get planning permission.

"Traffic counts and statistics make no difference. The Government doesn't care about traffic or people, as long as it hits its housing target.

"But Devizes has already fulfilled its quota for housing and this site is not part of it."

Mrs Alston has already been joined in her campaign by Jenny Kingsland and three other pensioners, who wanted to remain anonymous. All are prepared to sacrifice some minor comforts to shame the rest of the town into doing something. The allotment land was formerly owned by the St Mary's Church and Poorlands Trust but was sold to property developer Robert Hitchins Homes.

Devizes Town Council, which used to rent the land on behalf of the allotment holders, was given notice to quit.

Mrs Alston said: "I have nothing against the trust. They did what they had to do, which was to maximise their investment. But selling it to a developer was a disaster for the town."

Kennet District Council turned down the developer's planning application and a subsequent public inquiry refused Hitchins' appeal because it was not offering alternative allotment land of an acceptable quality.

Since then, Hitchins has lavished a great deal of time and money on employing consultants to draw up plans for the improvement of agricultural land at Windsor Drive. It now has planning permission for huts and an access road at the site.

It submitted a further planning application for houses at Spitalcroft, which was thrown out by Kennet district councillors and a three day public inquiry will be held on February 8 at the town hall.

The town council has looked into the possibility of a compulsory purchase order on the Spitalcroft land, but the cost has always been an obstacle. Councillors feel it would not be an appropriate use of council tax payers' money.

Mrs Alston said: "The land was given to the people of Devizes more than 100 years ago. It is a perfect site for allotments as well as other badly needed leisure amenities. Once the land is built on it will be lost to the people forever.

"Our town council has both the power and the desire to put a compulsory purchase order on the land to safeguard it and put it to the best possible use for the community. What it doesn't have is the money.

"Let's join with the council to finance such an initiative. Let us apply for a lottery grant to help us to buy it back. Let us join together to buy it by private purchase."

The deputy mayor of Devizes, Coun Peter Evans, said: "I admire their enthusiasm and enterprise and I wish them all the luck in the world. Whether their scheme will come off or not, I don't know, but if it did it would be a wonderful thing."

Coun Evans is to present petitions from residents to the inspector at the hearing on February 8.