Last month residents learned their playground, paid for and built by the village as part of its millennium project, could soon be removed to pave the way for several new homes.

Chichester District Council, which owns the playground site, is considering selling the land to housing association HydeMartlet.

Martlet owns a field behind the playground, currently used as a kickabout area by children, which it wants to combine with the playground site to build ten units of affordable housing.

At a meeting last Thursday, residents were urged to fight for their village.

Resident Ian Harris of West Ashling Responsible Development (WARD) told the meeting the development was not sustainable. New residents would need a car to get around as there were no bus services and very few jobs in the area.

The meeting also heard there were also not enough places at the nearest school for people already living in the village, a situation which would be made worse by extra development.

WARD member Jonathan Baker said a survey carried out by the campaign group found there was little support for such an inappropriate development.

"It's a downland village, it's small and pretty – and the important thing is it should be kept that way," he said.

No formal planning application has yet been lodged but initial plans show ten units would be built on the field south of Heather Close and four on the playground site.

A block of garages in Heather Close would be demolished and replaced with 15 parking spaces and a new access road would be built off Southbrook Road.

Mr Harris told the meeting the site was outside the official conservation area of the village and the development, which would include flats, would amount to an eight per cent increase in housing in the village and would spoil its character.

"There is a growing fear this is just a done deal and the apparent need for social housing has simply been trumped up," he said.

"We are being sold down the river just because of housing figures. There is no sense of participation or representation.

"It's the thin end of the wedge for any conservation area or village, not just in the Chichester district but for anywhere.

"We owe a duty to future generations to protect what we have got and not just let it be ransacked for the sake of government policy.

"The most sinister thing is what happens to the rest of the field? It leaves the way open for further development. It's not about building ten affordable homes and calling it a day, this is just the beginning."

A planning application is expected to be submitted in July.