A Lake District parish council and its county council counterparts in Carlisle are in a tug-of-war over the loss of land at Pooley Bridge.
Barton and Pooley Bridge Parish Council and Cumbria County Council have failed to agree the sale of a strip of riverside common land next to the new bridge over the River Eamont.
Used as a picnic spot and boat launch in years gone by, the area has been maintained by the parish council for decades, but with the installation of the £5 million new bridge by county council-hired contractors, the land was needed as part of the development.
As landowners, the parish council had been in talks with the county council about a sale for £5,340 — with plans to spend the sum on community projects.
But those hopes look dashed after county council officials told the parish council that it had not definitively proved that it owned the land in question.
It has left the parish council out of pocket and one of its assets lost. It has already provided historic paperwork, including some dating back more than 40 years.
A document, signed in 1981 by a Commons Commissioner, states that the area in question is “parish property” and that the county council should register Barton Parish Council as “the owners of the land”.
Miles MacInnes, chairman of the parish council, said the county council had reneged and effectively claimed the land as its own. Mr MacInnes said they also declined to make an ex gratia payment as a gesture.
Mr MacInnes said: “They also took the land without notifying us. The community suffered greatly during the five years it took to build the new bridge and it’s unbelievable that CCC can’t find some way of paying what is, by reference to the overall project cost, a relatively insignificant sum.
“Anything we receive would be put to good use to benefit the community.”
A Cumbria County Council spokesman said it worked very closely with the parish council and local stakeholders throughout every stage of the multi award-winning project.
“It is unfortunate that the request to purchase the land was made to the county council after the bridge had been completed. Nevertheless, the county council cannot legally acquire land which the seller can’t evidence ownership for.
“It is not a case that the county council is ‘choosing’ not to proceed to purchase the land and this is not a position in which the council wishes to find itself, but without the parish council having the legal title to the land, a sale cannot take place.
“The new bridge greatly benefits the public, local businesses and economy as well as the parish council.
“The project also included the sale of more than 300 engraved pavers which were bought by visitors and locals and raised over £50,000 which has enabled the community to fund projects and causes that benefit the community and village life.”
Neil Hughes, the Liberal Democrat county councillor for the area, said said he was “sympathetic” to the parish council but felt the council solicitor could not be overruled.
“I’d like to think that the county council would reconsider given the circumstances in which it obtained the land.”
