The wait for Northallerton Sports Village’s community allotments to be opened for use could soon be over.
North Yorkshire Council confirmed this week that progress had finally been made on legal issues which had caused several years of delays to the opening of the facility.
The main Sports Village site, including a running track, opened to the public last December, however, the gate to the 18 allotments remains locked.
Photos shared on social media recently showed sheds laid down and weeds several feet high covering the plots.
The ownership of the site needs to be transferred to North Yorkshire Council before any activities requiring a permit, such as the use of the allotment on the site, can take place.
A progress report was provided yesterday (MON) at North Yorkshire Council’s Richmond Area Committee in response to a question from Northallerton Town Council member Andrew Hugill.
He told the meeting that his authority had asked for an update from the same committee 14 months ago, adding: “No progress appears to have been made in resolving the legal issues highlighted in North Yorkshire’s response to that question that we asked.
“The completed allotment site now requires significant remedial work before it could be used.
“What are the specific legal issues causing this continued delay, who are the parties involved, how will North Yorkshire Council ensure that these issues are resolved quickly and who will be responsible for the costs to remediate the allotment site before it can be used.”
In response, North Yorkshire Council said in a statement from its legal services department read out at the meeting: “The transfer from the developers to NYC was recently completed I believe towards the end of last week.
“Negotiations are now underway with Northallerton Town Council with a view to completing shortly on the allotment headlease, as well as the transfer of the ransom strip.”
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