RESIDENTS who have been left with a hefty council tax bill in the wake of a parish council's legal battle over village allotments look unlikely to get any help from the district authority.

Ward councillor for Barton, near Darlington, Councillor Campbell Dawson asked Richmondshire District Council's resources committee if it would consider helping to soften the financial blow at a meeting on Tuesday.

But although the council supported the compulsory purchase of the land before a Government inspector ruled against the move, the authority decided it had no wish to be drawn further into the matter.

Barton has been split by the allotments wrangle since 1999, when the parish council decided to terminate the lease on the land.

A backlash from the gardeners prompted a number of councillors to resign from the village administration and the policy was subsequently reversed.

However, when the landowner decided he was unwilling to consider a new lease agreement, the reformed parish council persuaded Richmondshire District Council to support a compulsory purchase order.

The landowner continued to resist and the dispute was referred to government planning inspector Susan Hollan.

She concluded there was no evidence of a real desire for allotments plots in the village and ruled against the compulsory purchase of the land.

As a result of that decision, the parish council has been landed with a £10,000 legal bill, which now seems certain to be shared by the community's 370 households over the next 12 months.