Volunteers who have spent nine years transforming a neglected Durham park say they have been ordered to leave after Durham County Council threatened legal action against their community group.
Hemp Garden Community Association (HGCA) was told to leave Elvet Green and remove all its equipment with immediate effect, according to a report published by North East Bylines on 8 August. The group has been warned that failing to comply could lead to injunction proceedings and an application for the council’s legal costs.
The dispute centres on the council-owned site, where the association says volunteers have worked since 2017 to improve an area previously associated with antisocial behaviour, drug use and litter.
What the volunteers say they have done
The association says it has spent thousands of pounds and thousands of volunteer hours on the park’s improvement. Work described in the report includes clearing rubbish and hazardous waste, repairing grassed areas, planting flowers, shrubs and trees, improving pathways and enhancing biodiversity.
The group has also organised regular community work days, all without charge. It says the work has helped turn the site into a valued public space and a source of local pride.
“a place that brings the community together and has become a source of local pride”
The quote was attributed to Simpa Carter, the association’s founder, who also said the group had been surprised by the formal notice from the council’s solicitors after openly caring for Elvet Green for years.
“After years of openly caring for Elvet Green, we were genuinely surprised that the first time we were asked to stop our work or remove our equipment was in a formal notice from the council’s solicitors. None of us ever imagined that caring for a public park would lead to the threat of legal action.”
Complaint and council objections
The issue first surfaced publicly on 19 December last year, when it was reported that HGCA had complained about the way the council was treating volunteers and handling the park’s renovation.
Carter said the association became particularly concerned after council officers viewed the site’s derelict toilet block. He said the group’s follow-up enquiries had not received a response for more than a month.
“it was the final failure of their procedures. They’ve not communicated with us. It has now been over a month and they’ve still not got back to us.”
In the latest development, Durham County Council was reported to have received numerous objections to the group’s unauthorised occupation of the council-owned site and the activities taking place there. The council also claimed that the association had never sought permission for the work it carried out.
The report presents the dispute as unresolved. While the council’s ownership gives it control over what happens on the land, the association says it has tried to work with the authority and wants the conflict settled so the park can continue to benefit the people who use it.