A fighting fund has been started in Wymondham after hundreds of residents lent their support to a campaign against the development of a supermarket on an historic green space.

There was standing room only at a public meeting on Saturday when townsfolk raised their concerns about proposals that could result in the building of an Asda store on Kings Head Meadow, just off the town centre.

It comes after Wymondham Town Council announced last month that had entered into negotiations with the supermarket giant to sell off the meadow, off Norwich Road.

Officials behind the newly-formed Wymondham Asks Why (WAW) group pledged to fight the proposals at their first public meeting, which was attended by around 300 supporters.

Local resident Andy Gardiner, chairman of the campaign group, said they were not against a new supermarket in Wymondham, but they were opposed to the destruction of Kings Head Meadow, which has been used for recreation for centuries and is currently the home of Wymondham Town Football Club.

He added that there were concerns about the increased traffic generation and fears the 500 year old Windmill pub could be demolished to create an access to the site.

'Why is the council hellbent of destroying lives around this area and why is the council prepared to destroy Kings Head Meadow, an area of green land that offers a green lung in the centre of the town and is used by a great diversity of people from schoolchildren to dog walkers and for football and cricket. It is a place where childhood dreams are created,' he said.

Officials from WAW have called on Wymondham Town Council to hold an open meeting to discuss the supermarket plans for Kings Head Meadow and are demanding a parish poll on the matter. Objectors have also been urged to lobby their local councillors and sign a petition.

Mr Gardiner added: 'It will decimate the remaining local traders and the council is so naive to think that people, after doing their shopping, are going to walk into town to the bread shop, butchers and card shop,' he said.

Local historian Philip Yaxley added that it was ironic that Asda was looking to develop on the meadow at a time when it was the main sponsor of the Fields Challenge to protect outdoor recreational spaces in the run up to the Queen's Jubilee.

'People have played on there are donkeys years and to build on it and destroy it would be the greatest act of civic vandalism this town has seen,' he said.

For more information, visit www.keepthemeadowgreen.org.uk