Hundreds of people are calling for an ex-high school site to be saved from development.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has included the former Ball Green High School site in its draft local plan, which could see the Green Belt land earmarked for housing or employment.

But 832 local residents have signed a petition calling for the land to be retained for public use – three football pitches on the site have been used by the community since the school closed in 1989.

Ward councillor Dave Evans, who started the petition, told the housing, regeneration and operations scrutiny committee that the council, as landowner, should withdraw the site from consideration for the local plan, due to its importance to the local community.

But committee members voted against making this recommendation to cabinet, instead agreeing to refer the petition for consideration as part of the local plan consultation. This provoked an angry reaction from Cllr Evans and Ball Green residents who attended the meeting, who felt that their concerns were being ignored.

Cllr Evans, who told the committee that he himself played football on the site as a child, believes it is vital that the land remains in public use, either as a sporting or educational facility.

He said: "It is a hub of community activity for people in Ball Green. We know the challenges we face as a city in terms of obesity and people getting out, enjoying green space and doing more exercise – all of which takes place on the Ball Green High School site and has been for the last 35 years.

"Ball Green is a village on the edge of the city that doesn't have other facilities. It has a park that hasn't been updated since I was old enough to fit on the swings, and the local chapel shut in recent years.

"This is unlike other parts of the city, like Bentilee, which has a PFI neighbourhood centre paid for by the taxpayer, or Chell Heath and Fegg Hayes where you have a lot of community organisations. Ball Green has nothing.

"This petition is about 832 people saying that they don't want there one community asset being taken away from them."

The high school site is part of a wider 'broad location', stretching up to Bemersley Green, which has been allocated 1,500 homes in the draft local plan. Tony McGovern, assistant director for investment, delivery and growth, said the council, as landowner, has not yet decided what to do with the high school site.

But he told the committee that if it were to be developed, the council would be required to provide alternative sports pitches in the area.

He said: "There are no specific proposals to develop Ball Green. The potential development could be either residential, or it could be employment, linked to the development of Chatterley Whitfield, or it could be a mix of both.

"The council as landlord has not made any decisions. It's put it in the local plan for consultation."

Cllr Chris Robinson, cabinet member for housing, urged the Ball Green residents to take part in the local plan consultation, insisting that their views would be taken into account. Officers told the committee that the cabinet would not be able to make any decision in relation to the Ball Green site while the consultation is ongoing.

Cllr Laura Carter said the committee's decision not to recommend that the site be removed from the local plan did not mean they were ignoring the residents. She said: "We're not disagreeing with what they're saying today, we're not disagreeing with the contents of the petition.

"But we're saying the council is in a consultation period, and all the messages need to go through the consultation."

But Cllr Evans claimed there had been a 'wilful misinterpretation' of the petition by councillors and officers, and following an angry exchange he was accused of making personal attacks on councillors and officers.

Ball Green resident Sharon Rospendowski was one of a number of petition supporters who attended the scrutiny committee meeting. She said: "We feel that they've just dismissed our concerns without really listening to us. We want to protect our green space.

"This is the council's land so the committee have asked the cabinet to take the site out of the local plan."

The local plan consultation runs until October 20. Residents can have their say by visiting www.stoke.gov.uk/localplan