THE fate of a cherished green space in Barnard Castle remains in limbo following a last minute surge of evidence.
Durham County Council’s highways committee was due decide whether land at Bede Kirk, next to the town’s former police station, should be officially designated as a green.
The area, along with the station, has been earmarked for sale by Durham Police for the development of older people’s social housing.
In an effort to preserve the area, Barnard Castle Town Council applied to have the land listed as a village green.
However, the county council’s officers had recommended this be turned down due to “insufficient evidence” it had been used for leisure in the past 20 years.
Residents and town councillors attended the meeting at County Hall this morning (FRIDAY) but it was decided that a decision could not yet be made.
The committee was told evidence submitted by the applicant had been “more than doubled” on Wednesday afternoon after more photographs and letters were received by the county council.
If the decision was made today, members were advised that it could result in a “potential prejudice issue” for the landowner who had not had the chance to respond to the additional evidence.
Councillors cast a unanimous vote and the decision has been postponed until Friday, May 11.
It was also decided that no further evidence will be considered between now and the next committee meeting.
Full story in next week’s paper.
