A COUPLE who accidentally sparked outrage in their village by setting up a fence on part of a play park say they have been made to feel like pariahs.

Richard Blackmore and his wife Maria claimed they approached Lydiard Millicent councillors in August to see whether they could buy the land and extend their garden.

After receiving no objections and investigating the land’s apparent lack of ownership with Wiltshire Council and the Land Registry, they sectioned off part of a small play area in January.

This prompted a neighbour who assumed the land was up for grabs to do the same - then another neighbour fenced off half of the remaining play area in a bid to protect it, as reported in the Advertiser this week.

Maria said; “We are pariahs. We offered to buy the land because we heard the council didn’t want it, it was a pain in the neck and they kept having to get the grass cut and swings fixed.

“Then we had communications with the parish and the county councils who said there was no objection to putting up the fence.

“That land is very little-used but we would never have taken it if there had been a meeting where people said they didn’t want it taken. We feel like we have been used as a guide to gauge the reaction of the parish.

“The day that fence went up, the parish council said they knew nothing about it. We’ve had a quote of £2,000 to take the fence down and we’re happy to take it down because it makes me feel sick just looking at it.”

More than 30 people turned up to a parish council meeting to support keeping the land a public space, so councillors pledged to work with Wiltshire Council to find out who owns it and other small pockets of village space.

Richard told parish councillors: “Bearing in mind the amount of people here and the furore we have received, don’t you think that in hindsight, someone should have raised it on the next agenda after receiving our letters and put it to bed?”

Chairman Alan Pfleger replied: “I’ve been on this council for 18 years and I had not heard anything about you applying for land. Nothing’s come to this council about it over the last six months.

“The first I knew about it was when the clerk told me a fence had gone up. We cannot comment on whether you can buy the land because we don’t own it. The reason it hasn’t formally appeared in a meeting is because we can’t make a decision on it.

“We’re not psychic, you could have come in any time during the last six months and asked.”

Several people in the meeting feared that this could happen again or set a precedent.

Some villagers expressed sympathy towards the Blackmores and argued the issue could have been resolved much earlier were it not for the miscommunication.

Neighbour Pina Brown had followed in their footsteps and tried to extend her garden over the play park. She said: “I know some of the neighbours said the park is in use but I’ve lived there for 23 years and it’s very rarely used. The council have an obligation to keep things looking good – I would not put my toddler on the rocker if you paid me, it’s disgusting.

“I put my fence up because I was one of the last houses to be put in and my garden is like a postage stamp, so if there’s a chance to extend it, I’d like to. Wiltshire Council have looked extensively into who owns the land but have not yet found out.”

Coun Pfleger said the play equipment was passed by ROSPA every year and considered low-risk, though the council would like to improve it.

A chartered surveyor suggested the site was sold off by a bankruptcy trustee when the company that built on it went into administration, then North Wiltshire District Council owned it before being subsumed into Wiltshire Council, which maintains it and may own it without even realising.

Parish councillors agreed to seek legal advice and reassure concerned villagers that they will try to adopt the land for public use.