MOUNT DESERT – A group of property owners has bought the 20-acre site of the proposed Somes Hill Ledge subdivision and plan to protect the land as a natural area, according to a statement issued Friday by resident Peter Blanchard.

The land was sold to the group Thursday by Portland developer Pam Gleichman, who had planned to divide the land into 10 housing lots.

The subdivision drew intense opposition from neighbors, who banded together to end the project by buying the land.

Blanchard could not be reached Friday, and Gleichman did not want to say how much the group paid for the Parker Farm Road land.

The 20-acre parcel lies between two woodland parcels that are protected by conservation easements.

In a prepared statement, Blanchard said the purchase “will guarantee a continuum of natural habitat and will help to safeguard the rural nature of the Parker Farm Road and the approaches to the village of Somesville.”