AN allotment site could be brought into public ownership after county chiefs started proceedings to force the current owner into a sale.

Sacriston Lane Allotments, in Witton Gilbert, face closure after more than a century after a new landholder ordered tenants to vacate the site.

But following a request from Witton Gilbert Parish Council, Durham County Council has agreed to apply for a compulsory purchase order (CPO) in an attempt to save the facility.

Amy Harhoff, the county council’s corporate director of regeneration, economy and growth said: “The parish council did bid for the land, but it was sold to a private owner who has subsequently served notice to vacate.

“In considering a CPO, the council needs to be satisfied on a number of aspects.

“First, that there is a justified need for the land and that there is no alternative within the area which could be used for the intended use and that they have tried to purchase the land with the consent of the owner.”

Ms Harhoff was speaking at last week’s (Wednesday, October 14) meeting of the county council’s ruling cabinet, which was held by videolink and broadcast via YouTube.

The previous owner of the allotment site, which currently has a six-year waiting list for plots to become available for new tenants, put it up for sale in 2018, but rejected a £10,060 bid by the parish council.

The new owners, named in a report for councillors as Mr and Mrs Hodgson, served a ‘notice to quit’ on the parish council last year (July 2019), eventually prompting it to request the county council make a CPO application on its behalf.

CPOs are supposed to be used as a ‘last resort’ and only where there is a ‘compelling case in the public interest’.

County bosses have said they are not yet able to put a price tag on the process, other than to warn it is ‘likely to be significant’.

The county council is expected to be totally reimbursed by Witton Gilbert Parish Council, whether the application is approved or refused.