LOCAL people are being urged to voice their views on a national organisation’s attempt to take ‘ownership rights’ over Wellington Park.

The park was gifted to the town’s former urban district council in 1905 by Sarah and Joseph Fox, and is currently owned by the Deane council.

Talks have been held recently on the subject of the town council taking back responsibility for the park as the Deane council faces a funding squeeze.

But in the meantime the National Playing Fields Association (NPFA) has launched a concerted effort to persuade the Deane council to give it the right to control the park.

The NPFA wants the Deane to sign a deed of dedication giving the association the final say over anything that might happen in the park.

It would be a legally-binding document attached to the registered title of the park at the Land Registry, effectively ending control and decision-making powers of local councillors.

Town councillors overwhelmingly rejected the move earlier this year, when Cllr John Thorne led objections to the attempted takeover.

But Cllr Thorne told the WWN this week that he understood the association was going to try to persuade councillors to change their minds.

Cllr Thorne said: “I firmly believe that our park is better off in the hands of local councillors who are in touch with local opinion and have the best interests of the town at heart.

“The NPFA has tried to pull a fast one here by dressing up their takeover bid with the name ‘Fields in Trust’, which purports to be a charity commemorating the fallen of the First World War.

“In fact, ‘Fields in Trust’ does not exist other than in its name alone, a name which has been thought up by the association in partnership with the Royal British Legion in an attempt to make councillors think they cannot possibly refuse such a poignant move.

“They claim that their deed of dedication will ensure the park is kept in perpetuity for public use.

“But it means councillors would have to seek their permission to do almost anything at all with the park, and we would even need to ‘have regard’ to any maintenance advice they gave us.

“As I see it, that means the NPFA would then effectively own the park, not the local council to whom the Fox family gifted it.”

Cllr Thorne said the fallen of the First World War – including his own great-grandfather – were already permanently commemorated by the war memorial which stands in the park.

Only last month the war memorial was given a grade two listing by Historic England as a property of special architectural or historic interest, which gives it protection for the future.

Cllr Thorne said: “Regrettably, the Deane council appears to be supporting the NPFA and is pressuring town councillors to reverse the decision we made.

“I understand they will be coming to the town council’s January meeting to talk about this, so it is very important that everybody who cares about keeping our park local should speak up now and also come to our January meeting.”