THE future of a Wellington beauty spot is set to be discussed at a council meeting next week.

Wellington Town Council will meet on Tuesday night to explore options of improving the much-loved Basins.

Councillors have been concerned for some time about the fence that runs along the causeway of the water.

The land is currently owned by the Crown Estate, so the council has no authority over the potentially dangerous fence.

Town clerk, Greg Dyke, said: "The fencing is in need of repair. The cost of the repairs would be £2,302.82 +vat. This was not something that the town council was prepared to take on as it had no responsibility for the land and no permission to carry out any work.

"Enquiries have been made regarding the possibility of taking the land into public ownership and the Crown has indicated that a disposal of the property might be possible."

Mr Dyke explained that taking the land into public ownership is not as simple as it sounds, although could be done for as little as £7,500.

He said: "What has confused the issue is that the documentation received from the Crown’s solicitors seems to refer to the wider Tonedale Estate when all the town council is interested in is the Basins and the causeway across it. The Crown has a statutory obligation to obtain best value for any disposal.

"This would be a minimum of £5,000 plus legal costs of approximately £2,500. The prices quoted should not particularly frighten us but the council probably wouldn’t want to take on responsibility for anything other than the land at the Basins."

Cllr John Thorne said: "If we fixed the fence and them something happened like someone falling in, would we be liable? It's outside of our control.

"I would vote to buy the land. It's important for the future of Wellington.

"People talk about the park being the jewel in our crown, but the Basins is one, too.

"It's a little tarnished at the moment, but we could polish it."