“A DISTURBING situation” is how a community arts campaigner has described Darlington Borough Council’s latest stance on whether a covenant protects the town’s main library.

Since the council first announced its proposals to shut Crown Street Library in February, debate has raged over whether the building is protected by a covenant that the premises must only be used for a public library.

Darlington Council has previously acknowledged the existence of the covenant which is believed to have been lost in the 1970s.

A document signed in 1983 by the council’s then assistant borough solicitor Alan Carling says that, according to his records, a restrictive covenant was imposed that the Crown Street land ‘was to be used for the purposes of a library forever’.

Campaigners have used this to bolster their case for preserving the library at its Crown Street site, but now a council spokesman says the authority has been unable to establish the covenant’s existence.

He said: “We have carried out searches with the Land Registry and have not been able to establish the existence of a covenant restricting the use of the Crown Street property.

“During the budget consultation, nobody has come forward with any new documentary evidence confirming the existence of a covenant.

“While a lot of attention has focussed on the building, it is interesting to look at the intentions and purposes of the bequest.

“We have obtained a copy of the will from the Probate Registry. The intention behind the bequest is clearly wider than the establishment of a library - £10,000 was left for ‘the education of the poorer classes’ and could be used to establish a library or school scholarships.

“It seems clear that the intention was less about a specific building and more to do with helping the less well-off.”

John Dean, chairman of community arts group Darlington for Culture said the council’s new stance was “very concerning”.

He added: “It is a surreal situation because throughout the consultation Darlington Council led everyone to believe that there was a covenant; that was the very strong impression that they have left everybody with.

“There is a legal document that says there is a covenant.

“Now they are disregarding it, it is like ‘now you see it, now you don’t’ and it is a disturbing situation.”

Luke Swinhoe, Darlington Council’s head of legal services further clarified the council’s position at a cabinet meeting last night.

He told those assembled at Darlington Town Hall that it appeared more likely that the land had been left ‘on trust’ by Edward Pease for the purposes of a library or education centre.

Mr Swinhoe said: “It is my view that the covenant issue may have been a mis-description and what he (Mr Carling) may have meant to say is that the land was conveyed on trust rather than under a covenant.”

He added that enquiries have been made with the Charity Commission and that they would form a view over whether the land had been left on trust.