A ROW between a parish council and an allotment holder over a summerhouse has been settled after three years, with a court ruling in favour of the authority.

Maureen Powles made a claim of up to £25,000 for disability discrimination and injury to feelings against Hurworth Parish Council after it refused permission for a summerhouse to be built on an allotment plot in Strait Lane, Hurworth.

In 2017, Mrs Powles wanted to erect a summerhouse which was larger than rules on the allotment allow, stating that the intention of the structure was to provide somewhere for her to take her disabled friend.

After Mrs Powles had bought the building material and had begun to build the summerhouse’s foundations, her plans were brought to a halt by the parish council.

She then applied for permission to re-build the structure, but her request was refused.

The council said the decision had nothing to do with the fact the summerhouse would be used by a disabled person, adding that 20 per cent of the allotments at the Strait Lane site are tended by disabled people, and that the summerhouse was for leisure purposes.

In a letter to The Northern Echo, a spokesperson for the parish council said that after many attempts to initially resolve the situation with alternatives, they “were left with no option but to not renew her tenancy agreement at the allotment as she was in contradiction to basic rules of her tenancy” and she was handed an eviction letter.

This decision resulted in two parish councillors, David Wood and Carol Paylor, both resigning, following an on-going row over the erection of the summerhouse.

An independent review into the decision was carried out by Darlington Borough Council last year, but it was found the parish council had acted correctly in its rejection of the structure.

Mrs Powles responded to the decision by taking the parish council to County Court, alleging discrimination and injury to feeling.

At the final hearing of the case, held at Middlesbrough County Court on Wednesday, February 12, the court ruled that the council had acted correctly, and a court order was made for Mrs Powles, the claimant, to pay £16,897 of the defendant’s costs.

The council has allowed Mrs Powles until April 15 to pay the full amount.

“The judge pointed out that the complainant had been made several offers in an attempt to appease Mrs Powles over the summerhouse,” said a parish council spokesperson, “but she had rejected them all and chose instead to take the case to court.

“There are no real winners in this dispute. For Hurworth village, it is now time to move on.”

Mrs Powles was contacted but declined to comment.