A North Yorkshire community is hoping to extend the deadline to use more than £190,000 in funding allocated for the purchase of allotments amid fears the money could be lost.
Great Ayton Parish Council was awarded a grant from the government’s Community Ownership Fund (COF) last December to buy a ten-acre allotment site on Guisborough Road after the plot, along with an adjacent field, was put up for sale.
The grant, which totalled £191,378, came with the condition that it was used within a year.
The owner of the land agreed to sell the allotments to the parish council on the condition that planning was granted for 55 homes on the adjacent field, with a strip alongside the allotments used for access.
But this planning application is still to be determined by North Yorkshire Council.
Councillor Ron Kirk, from Great Ayton Parish Council, said: “The owner of the land, who is leasing the allotment to the parish council, quite rightly from a commercial point of view, is not prepared to enter into a contract (for the sale of the land) with the parish council until the planning application is approved.
“We’ve been invited to apply for an extension to the deadline, which we have done.
“It’s not guaranteed but it’s been suggested we give it a try. We have no idea when the decision will be made, as to whether we get the extension or not.”
Jacq Walker, from community group Great Ayton Allotments, which has raised more than £50,000 towards the purchase, added: “As it stood, we would have lost the grant on December 19, but hopefully they’re going to agree to the extension.
“We’re keeping our fingers crossed. Everybody is really positive and working really hard behind the scenes on this.”
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) alerted the parish council to the possibility of extending the deadline after they were contacted by Richmond and Northallerton MP, Rishi Sunak.
Mr Sunak raised the issue in Parliament this week.
He told MPs: “The Great Ayton allotments group received funding from the community ownership fund last year.
“As the deadline for disbursing the funds approaches, delays in a related planning application are threatening that funding. I thank Department officials for trying to resolve the issue, and I ask ministers to support that flexibility, because the project means a great deal to the community of Great Ayton.”
In response, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Under-Secretary of State at MHCLG, said the department would continue to work with the parish council.
The planning application for the 55 homes has divided opinion in Great Ayton, with more than 100 people expressing their support for the scheme and at least 80 filing objections.
A new car park is proposed for the allotment holders as well as space set aside for new allotments to replace those lost due to the access road.
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