Evenwood could lose part of its village green following the approval of 38 new homes nearby.
Oak Tree Living was given outline permission to build the houses at the former Kays Hall Farm site in 2020.
However, a reserved matters application, including using part of Evenwood Village Green to access the development, has yet to be decided.
A campaign group says the new access road will cut the green in two if it is approved.
Evenwood and Barony Parish Council also objected to the application describing land offered in compensation for the loss of village green as “rough scrub land”, which would be “no use whatsoever for enjoyment by local people as a place for exercise and recreation”.
The council also complained the Church Commissioners who own the green, had not consulted with residents before offering up the land as access.
Kevin Richardson, of the campaign group and chairman of the village’s history group, said the green had been part of the village for time immemorial or beyond living memory.
He added that the construction of St Paul’s Church on the green had even caused upset.
He said: “The locals did not want anything to interrupt their enjoyment of their village green.
“Back in 1864, residents prevented the architect, Mr John Ross and the Rev C Palmer from pegging out the site for the church.
“The Bishop of Durham was called in and a compromise was reached. The church was built but with no churchyard.”
The beauty of the green, Mr Richardson said, was described in the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle in 1873. It read: “It is decidedly one of the nicest bits of free ground to be seen in any of the Durham villages we have visited.
“It contributes largely to the health and happiness of the entire community. Let no man lay brick or paling there upon as long as the ages last.”
In a report to campaigners Mr Richardson concluded: “The timeline has been researched by noted historians, historical features have been identified and it concluded that Evenwood Village Green is worthy of protection.
“The proposed development by virtue of the proposed highway causes demonstrable harm to the fabric of the village green and the proposed housing estate on the western boundary introduces a built form which alters the landscape and damages the setting of the green.”
