Questions over the opening date of community allotments on a controversial sports site have been raised after residents have branded the situation "an utter shambles".
Over the last 18 months, complications over the Northallerton Sports Village site have been raised, including the opening date, facilities and issues of graffiti.
Despite the first phase of the site being completed in August 2023, several sections have been fenced off and the public has been prevented from using them.
This includes the allotment site, which has seen a metal fence erected to block the use of the plots, with the public prevented from entering the allotment.
For the last year, 18 allotment sheds, which were initially built along with phase one, have stood empty, with residents near the Sports Village claiming that the condition is starting to "worsen".
One resident, who lives close to the site, has been left angered by this issue, calling the allotments a "wasteful use of taxpayers' money."
The resident, who didn't wish to be named, said: "A year later and the 18 allotments are still not available to council residents.
"Nearly all the sheds have blown over and are now damaged. It's sad to see a wasteful use of taxpayers' money. An utter shambles."
Images taken of the allotments at the Sports Village show sheds on their side, with several of them congregating together in the middle of the site.
The images also show the allotment land, which appears to be overgrown and has numerous patches of weeds.
In the aftermath of the images and residents' anger, North Yorkshire Council has said that the first phase has been completed and handed over to the local authority from the contractors.
However, no clear plans or a timeframe for when the allotments will be open has been made - with the council saying it was working to resolve the delays.
Once the issues are resolved, the council has committed to repairing the sheds and the ground before the public can use them.
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North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director for culture and leisure, Jo Ireland, said: “Phase one of the Sports Village development was completed in August 2023 when the site was handed over to North Yorkshire Council from the contractors. That allowed us to open the land for community use.
“However, there have been several complicating factors relating to the formal land transfer for the site, which is still not completed. This means that whilst we can open the site for community use any organised activity that requires a licence or a lease is currently not permitted - we can only allow this once the land is owned by the council, and that includes the allotments."
She added: “We are working hard to resolve the outstanding issues and realise this is very frustrating for local people wanting the allotments, but once the land transfer is complete we will undertake repairs to the sheds and spray/rotavate the plots so that they are handed over to Northallerton Town Council in good condition. “
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