Council build skate park on wrong allotment

Mar 6 2008 by Ben Guy, The Journal

PARISH councillors have dug a hole for themselves by building a skateboard park on someone else’s allotment.

Corbridge Parish Council in Northumberland was given responsibility to build the park on allotment land close to the River Tyne after plans were approved by Tynedale District Council in December 2006.

The land had been leased by the parish council from a local businessman, but instead of building the ramp where the plans stipulated, workmen concreted over a neighbouring allotment which the council does not own.

Parish councillor Lawrence Best described the mistake as unbelievable and said both Tynedale District and Corbridge Parish Councils had to take some responsibility.

Now members of the parish council are being recommended to spend £20,000 to buy the site where the ramp has been wrongly built – so they can save £7,250 on its rent.

Coun Best said: “I have no idea how something like this can happen – why weren’t the proper checks made? The trouble is that there has been a lack of communication between Tynedale Council and Corbridge Council.

“The park is supposed to be built next to a gate, but there are several gates into the allotments, so maybe they have gone in by the wrong gate and read the plans upside down.

“It is the fault of both councils. Corbridge made the mistake, but surely a planning official from Tynedale should have checked to see things were being done properly.”

When the mistake came to light a confidential memo was sent to parish councillors, urging them to sanction the purchase of additional land for £20,000.

The memo tells them that buying the extra land would allow the council to increase income from allotment rents and save it the £7,250 the council would have to spend on the lease of the original allotment.

It says the buy would be financed through a 50-year loan, but some council members have privately told The Journal they believe the land would be bought so the half-finished park could go ahead.

Parish council chairman Bill Grigg declined to comment yesterday and clerk of the council Derick Tiffin was unavailable for comment.

Corbridge parish councillor David Walton said it was youngsters living in the village who would suffer as a result of the mistake.

He said: “It is a shame because the project has been talked about for such a long time and we thought it would be up and running by this year.”

Businessman Charles Beaumont owns the allotments and sold the lease for the site where the park was supposed to be built.

He said: “It is in the wrong place, but it is not necessarily a disaster. It may well be that it is fine to leave it on that site – we are still discussing the situation.”

Tynedale Council planning director Helen Winter said: “We have written to Corbridge Parish Council today to advise them to stop work on the site.

“They have been advised that they should either remove the unauthorised Tarmac area and skate ramp base and reinstate the land to its former use and appearance or submit an application for planning permission to retain the development in the alternative location.

“In regard to monitoring new developments, it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the development is built in accordance with the approved plans and elevations.

“When it becomes evident to the local planning authority that this is not the case, either through a complaint from neighbours, direct observation or following contact from the applicant, appropriate steps are taken to address and remedy the situation.”