MORE than three months since he lost a legal battle over land now designated as a village green, a developer has refused to remove a wall around it.

Land at the corner of Hornbeam Road and Chestnut Avenue, in Buckhurst Hill, owned by Zubair Hamidi, was declared to have village green status in July meaning it must be maintained as green amenity space.

But Mr Hamidi, of Manor Park, London, has refused to remove a concrete wall he constructed around the land over a year ago leaving residents to ponder legal action.

Joy Clover, a spokeswoman for Roding Valley Residents' Committee, who formed to fight for village green status, said: “The wall is illegal so it's possible that legal action will follow. We want the wall down and we want it back to how it was.

“It was three months ago and he hasn't appealed. I don't know if he'll take it down or not. He must have realised it's illegal.

“Really it would be much better if it was owned by the local authority. There's quite a lot of roots and shrubs which need to be cut down and it'll be quite a big problem. It's not just a case of cutting the grass. The first thing is to get rid of the wall and there's an awful lot of rubbish there.”

Around 200 residents, councillors and committee members attended a recent meeting to discuss the future of the green.

They agreed that they would first write a letter to Mr Hamidi, and then start legal action if he refuses to remove the wall.

Buckhurst Hill Parish Council has also said it will write to Mr Hamidi.

The council had once put in a bid for the land, but said that was no longer on the cards.

Parish council chairwoman Joyce Darby said: “We would like to maintain it as a village green of course. It's a very difficult process and right now we can't make that offer.”

Mr Hamidi told the Guardian he will not remove anything from the green and he still intends to appeal the village green judgement.

He said:“This land is mine and it's not registered as a village green yet. When the council start to register it as a village green that is when I will go to the appeal court.”