POLICE have been called in over a dispute about the future of village allotments.

Barton Parish Council ran up a £15,000 legal bill during an unsuccessful attempt to force the landowner to sell.

Now, police have been asked to investigate the circumstances that led to the surrender of the lease in 1999.

Four years ago, the then parish council decided there was not the demand to make the allotments viable.

After an emergency meeting, allotment holders were told they would be asked to vacate their plots.

The move prompted an outcry and led to members of the parish council quitting.

They were replaced by allotment holders who had played a part in reversing the decision.

By then the landowner had decided he did not want to renew the lease on the land.

This prompted the parish council to press Richmondshire District Council to support a compulsory purchase order.

The landowner continued to resist and a Government planning inspector was asked to adjudicate at a public inquiry, which the parish council subsequently lost.

With Barton's households facing the prospect of having to share the legal bill, the matter has taken another twist.

Allotment holder and recently re-elected parish councillor Alen McFadzean has asked police to investigate the circumstances surrounding the parish council's original decision in 1999.

"There remain many unanswered questions regarding the attempt by the previous parish council to close the allotment site and I have asked the police to look into them following advice from the Audit Commission and the Local Government Ombudsman," said Mr McFadzean, who works at The Northern Echo.

"The Audit Commission is also investigating the matter to determine whether the previous parish council acted responsibly and reasonably when it rejected advice from the Department of the Environment, the District Auditor and Yorkshire Local Councils Association to keep the site open.

"The attempt to close the site has resulted in the spending of many thousands of pounds by the present parish council in order to uphold its obligations under law.

"This is a very unsatisfactory situation so I am hoping the police and the Audit Commission will examine the circumstances thoroughly."

Councillor Campbell Dawson, who was chairman of the parish council four years ago and was among those who quit over the allotments, was elected to the village administration a week ago.

He declined to comment yesterday, saying it was the first he had heard of any police involvement.

He said: "We will just have to see what is said at the annual parish meeting next Thursday."