Into the Dragon's Den: the Open Spaces Society boss claimed victory in the Wishing Fields case. Photo: Ville Miettinen

She was described this week as a walker’s heroine; now she’s taken to slaying dragons.

Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of campaign group the Open Spaces Society, helped defeat Deborah Meaden, one of the BBC’s feared entrepreneurs from the Dragon’s Den and her company Mudstone, which wants to build houses on land in Brixham, Devon. But an inspector at a public inquiry has recommended the land be registered as a village green, calling some of the evidence ‘unreliable’.

The OSS supported local residents at the inquiry in spring into the status of the Wishing Fields, who said there should be no building on the site – despite planning consent having been granted – because the land had been used without challenge for more than 20 years for informal recreation, and therefore could be registered as a green.

Mudstone, which owns the land and wants to build 48 houses on it, objected and Torbay Council called a public inquiry. Ms Meaden is a partner in the company.

Kate Ashbrook: 'wonderful outcome'

Ms Meaden and other objectors argued that the land had been used as an informal recreation area for guests of St Mary’s Bay Holiday Park, and that the use was ‘predominantly by children and those who had brought their dogs with them on holiday’.  She claimed that the area was patrolled and that members of the public were turned off.

Barrister William Webster, who chaired the inquiry, rejected the objectors’ claims and recommended the land be given village green status.

He said he found some of the objectors’ evidence to be ‘unreliable’ and ‘inherently implausible’, adding: “I have no hesitation at all in rejecting it.”  On the other hand, he found the witnesses for the applicant to be ‘honest and genuine witnesses doing their best to assist the public inquiry’.

Ms Ashbrook said, after the inspector delivered his verdict: “This is a wonderful outcome.  Now we just need Torbay Council to follow the inspector’s advice and register the land.

“That action will confirm the rights of local people to use this important area for quiet recreation, and it will protect the land from development.

“Although planning permission has been granted for 48 houses here, it would be illegal to build those houses on a village green.”

Open Spaces Society member Barbara Clark, who gave evidence at the inquiry, added: “It was a real David and Goliath battle. The objectors were represented by a QC whereas we represented ourselves. But the inspector understood the force and the truth of what we were saying and found in our favour.

“This is a great day for all those who treasure Wishings Field as their local open space.”

Ms Meaden told the BBC: “This was a serious, formal public inquiry and I answered every question truthfully.

“Numerous independent witnesses gave evidence very similar to my account of events.”

Ms Ashbrook was described by Country Life this week as a walker’s heroine. “As head of the Ramblers’ Association, she sticks out like a sore thumb at gatherings of landowners and other countrymen but, undeterred, heads a large and vociferous organisation that campaigns tirelessly for access for walkers and is a driving force behind the coastal path,” the magazine said.

Torbay Council is due to decide whether to register the land as a green on 24 September.