A fence dubbed by Hampton residents as a Guantanamo Bay monstrosity could soon be pulled down.

The contentious fence's days could be numbered after Buckingham Fields was declared a village green in a council regulatory committee meeting last week.

Leader of Richmond upon Thames Council, Councillor Serge Lourie, said: "I shall be recommending to Cabinet at their meeting on December 4 that the fence should be taken down."

The Buckingham Fields fence has been a hot topic since the previous council erected it to section off part of the area for the sole use of Hampton Community College in June last year.

It was intended to prevent dogs fouling the area and broken glass making student sports unsafe.

But bad feeling arose as the community had made use of the space for over 20 years and claimed they were not consulted about the developments. Some were unaware of the changes until contractors began ripping out shrubbery.

The 12ft metal fence was funded by a £50,000 grant from the Lottery Commission and was described as a monstrosity by residents.

Conservative Councillor for Hampton North, Geoffrey Samuel, said that the council were advised by experts as to the specifications of the fence but added: "Its appearance caused understandable dissatisfaction - it was an ugly piece of work."

John Frixou, a Buckingham Road resident and campaigner for the protection of the field as a community resource, is among those calling for the fence's removal and claims that it should never have been installed in the first place.

According to Mr Frixou, residents used the Freedom of Information Act to access the original application for the lottery grant.

He said: "The council said in the application that the area was intended for the use of the community, but this was misleading as they tried to charge us £40 a time to use it. A local football club stopped playing because they couldn't afford the charge."

Coun Samuel agreed the grant was made on the condition the area was open to the community, but maintains it had to be kept free of debris in order to be match-fit.

Mr Frixou attacked North Hampton ward councillors for their silence over the fence.

He said: "We asked our councillors to state their position on the fence publicly, but they never did.

"We want to know why Couns Seymour and Howard did not represent the interests of their constituents."

Coun Lourie agreed that the fence had created animosity: "Everyone agrees that it is important for students from Hampton Community College to have somewhere safe to play sports but this fenced pitch has caused so much ill will that we must all look for alternative arrangements."

Coun Samuel welcomed the removal of the fence but said: "An alternative pitch of match standard must be found for the 900 students at the college to play on."

It has also been proposed that a Friends of Buckingham Fields be set up in order to allow residents to have their say on the park's management, a move welcomed by residents.

The village green status means that the 60 acre site is protected from future sale or development.