DELIGHTED villagers are celebrating a victory for people power as three plots of land are officially named as Assets of Community Value.

The Rydal Village Association decided to make a stand against the Lake District National Park Authority's decision to sell-off swathes of land in their beloved area.

They submitted a request for South Lakeland District Council to turn plots at Baneriggs Wood, White Moss and Penny Rock, and Blue Hill and Red Bank Wood into community assets.

The Gazette can reveal that, on Friday, the district council will officially inform the LDNPA that those plots met its community asset criteria.

It means that if the LDNPA decide to re-market the land, community groups will have a six month period to raise the funds to bid for it - preventing an overnight sale.

Gilly Hodkinson, a member of the Rydal Village Association, described the decision to market land in her village as 'selling off the family silver'.

She said: "We wanted community asset status because there's no early warning with the land sales and we want to protect areas from private ownership. This is proof of what a small group of people can do. You don't have to be a big organisation, with the right will power it's possible for a little group of people to do big things."

The plots surround land at White Moss owned by Lowther Estates, which is currently appealing a decision to refuse the development of an adventure centre on site.

Ms Hodkinson said: "We believe that the urbanisation of the Lake District isn't a good idea. There are places necessary for people to come and have peace and quiet and reflect away from a busy life. If these places aren't protected who knows what might happen?"

In what could prove to be a watershed ruling, members of the Rydal Village Association hopes other communities across the country will use their success as an example in order to 'make it clear to the powers that be that some of us aren't happy with green and pleasant England being pawned-off'.

In response, the LDNPA said: "The decision by SLDC to list these plots as Assets of Community Value sets a process that we will now work within, should we decide to remarket.

"Whenever we consider moving a piece of land into alternative responsible ownership, we are always happy to work with the local community, whether or not the land is registered as an Asset of Community Value."