COUNCILLORS have agreed to install fencing to prevent a tragedy from happening at Wellington Basins.

Dangerous fencing and missing panels on either side of the causeway by the two large ponds have raised concerns.

Wellington Town Council was divided at its recent meeting about whether it should do the work because of possible legal problems as it did not own the land.

But the Mayor, Cllr Gary James, had the casting vote and decided the fencing needed to be repaired. “The main thing is the safety of the public,” he said. “What happens if someone falls in and drowns and nothing has been done?

“I personally believe we need to do something – we need to get on with the work and make that place secure. It would mean the town council doing something positive for the safety of the people of Wellington.”

The council had voted six-six over whether the work should be done with councillors having mixed views on the legal position.

Councillors decided to turn down a previous request in September to repair the damaged fencing at a cost of £2,302 because it did not own the Basins area and was not responsible for it.

Town clerk Greg Dyke has been in ongoing negotiations with the Crown Estate, which is now looking after the Basins, about the council buying the whole area and taking on its management.

But the safety concerns have grown louder and the Basins Volunteer Group has made a number of requests for the work to be done.

Cllr Janet Reed said: “While we are awaiting for the correct legislation to come through, it’s still a danger down there. Common sense tells me that the fencing should be done so nobody falls in. We need to just do it.”

Cllr Marcus Barr added: “I know why the public gets so disillusioned with the councillors. We need to put our heads on the block and get the work done so the kids are safe down there.”

The council has been told that although the Crown Estate would not give it official permission to carry out the fencing work, it would not necessarily take any action against the authority if it did.

But Cllr Pete Critchard said he was ‘worried’ about the liability the council could find itself with if anything went wrong.

“The work needs to be done,” he said. “Crown Estate won’t mind us doing it as long as we take the risk.”

And Cllr Mark Lithgow added: “If anything happened we would be in real serious trouble and in court action for doing something that Crown Estate hadn’t given us permission to do.”

Cllr Ben Shepherd also erred on the side of caution because of the complexities over ownership and legal issues with the land.

But Cllr Andrew Govier said: “It’s a risk if we do it but it’s a greater risk if we don’t. I genuinely think we should put the fencing up now.”