MORE than 60 residents took part in a protest picnic yesterday to try to stop a “village green” being turned into a works compound for up to two years.

A developer has been given permission to create a fenced compound in Manzil Way gardens, off Cowley Road, for 24 months.

The compound will be used to house a crane while a three-storey block of student flats, a replacement police office and toilets are built in Cowley Road.

So far, about 800 residents and users of the nearby mosque have signed a petition against the scheme, claiming it will deprive East Oxford of one of its few green spaces.

Leatrice Beeson, who lives in the Anchor Court retirement home off St Clement’s, said: “There aren’t that many open spaces for children to play in East Oxford, so any move to close one for a long while is a tragedy.”

The 85-year-old, who has arthritis in her spine, added: “I like to use the gardens after I’ve been to the health centre, to watch children playing.

“I’m disabled and I can still drive to the health centre but I’m worried I won’t be able find anywhere to park nearby because of the increased traffic.”

Developer Tom Crampton Smith, owner of Crampton Smith Properties, said the compound was vital to stop congestion on the Cowley Road during the development. Without it, lorries and work equipment would have to be parked on the road, creating traffic problems.

Mr Crampton Smith said work would not start until after this year’s Cowley Road Carnival in July, and the gardens would be landscaped and open in time for the 2011 carnival, although the application lasts for two years.

The Green Party’s city councillor for St Clement’s, Nuala Young, who described the space as East Oxford’s village green, said: “This picnic helped to emphasise how important the gardens are.”

Iffley Fields Green councillor David Williams said: “We can’t understand why the contractor can’t work within the operational site like the builders did to build Pegasus Theatre.”

Council spokesman Annette Cunningham said: “We have considered all the available options for the compound but the only suitable option is for it to be on part of the gardens.”

A decision will be made at the city council’s executive board meeting on June 9.