Gedney Parish Council insists that grant funding for its new children’s play was obtained lawfully and the vast majority of villagers are pleased with the facility.
It comes after a parishioner complained to The Voice about the process by which the equipment was bought for the village green. They claimed that as the land was not registered, the £7,000 funding from Lincolnshire County Council last year was gained “illegally”.
The parish council admits that, due to an oversight, the land was not registered but it was in the council’s ownership so there was no issue with the grant.
Chairman Coun Ian Field said: “Registration and ownership are two separate issues, in other words land can be owned but not necessarily registered.
“Some years ago the Land Registry made an offer nationwide to local councils for registration of unregistered land at a discounted price.
“Gedney Parish Council took advantage of this offer, unfortunately, at the time it was not noticed that the red boundary on the plan had been placed incorrectly around only part of the site.”
The cost of rectifying the error, which was pointed out to the clerk by a parishioner at a council meeting, is £30.
After initial difficulty finding a suitable site for the play area, it was to have been in the car park of the village hall. However, it too was not registered and the council could not obtain a 15-year leasehold tenancy in time to keep the grant funding “alive” so it reverted to using the village green – previously an unpopular choice.
Coun Field said: “Since the installation at the end of last year we have received favourable comments from a number of villagers including an e-mail containing a picture of a very happy young man on the cradle swing.
“Most of the comments mention how tasteful and in keeping with the area the equipment chosen by the council is. These positive comments are being made by some of the most vocal of those originally opposed to the scheme.
“For us as councillors the most pleasing aspect of this is the number of families using the area making this a vibrant centrepiece to the village community.”
He added: “We would also like to add that for months we have been calling for a volunteer from Gedney Dyke to fill the one vacancy on the council and give another voice to the village and its community.”
Anybody wishing to apply should contact clerk Jane Ripley on 01945 700268.
