A DATE has been set for a meeting which could seal the fate of a green space and its 29 trees at the centre of a bitter dispute.
Residents and Durham Police have been at loggerheads over a police bid to sell off Bede Kirk to the Railway Housing Association so accommodation for the elderly can be built.
Barnard Castle Town Council submitted a bid to register the land as village green last year with objections from police and the housing charity.
A decision on that bid will be made by Durham County Council’s highways committee on Friday, March 16 at 9.30am. A successful application would not necessarily halt development plans on the former police station land – but it would allow greater say over what could or could not be done.
Meanwhile, campaigners have hit back at Chief Constable Mike Barton after the police chief gave residents a stark choice of either “cops or a copse” .
Bede Kirk resident George Chrystal was unimpressed with the warning. Mr Chrystal said: “People in this town are not stupid.”
Protester Thom Robinson added: “Mike Barton should remember that the police are public servants and as such should not be acting against the people.”
The town council also offered its response, pointing to police claims the six-figure sum from the sale would go into frontline policing.
The council said: “Capital receipts, from the sale of land, may be used for capital expenditure, on buildings for example, or for transformation projects designed to release revenue savings.
“Capital receipts can’t be used to fund revenue expenditure, for example police officers, directly.”
Town clerk Michael King also highlighted Durham Police’s accounts, which showed the force had a large reserve fund in March 2017.
However, others support Durham Police’s position.
Superintendent Kerrin Wilson, head of Cleveland and Durham Police Special Operations Unit, posted on social media: “It’s not like there is a shortage of green spaces in and around Barnard Castle. There is however a shortage of suitable properties for the elderly and a substantial shortage of funds for policing.”
l Row over Bede Kirk, see letters, page 10.
