THE FENCES at Oakfield Recreation Ground may yet be taken down after Rugby Borough Council made a formal offer to buy the land – and claimed the owners may be willing to sell.
The park was fenced off by its owners, the Heart of England Cooperative Society, after its plan to build 50 new homes there was rejected by the council in 2016 on the grounds it should remain a community park.
But the Co-op withdrew its appeal against that refusal in April this year, and a council spokesman said the society may now be willing to sell the site.
Council leader Coun Michael Stokes said: “We have offered to buy the site on previous occasions and been turned down, but one year on since the site was fenced off and with no prospect of the land being put to any other use at this time we want to remove any doubt the Co-op may have that our offer still stands.
“I know from my discussions with the Save Oakfield group and from the local ward councillors that the Oakfield Recreation Ground fulfils an important role in a community that has limited access to open space.
“It has long been an ambition of ours to improve Oakfield Rec as a community facility, and with a positive response we can still make that happen.”
Oakfield Rec was leased and maintained by the council as a local park until the lease was cancelled by the Co-op in June last year.
The Co-op fenced the site off and refused to enter discussions on a new long-term lease. The Co-op’s solicitor told the council that their client did not want to sell the land.
The council submitted its latest offer on the advice of their land agent.
Oakfield Recreation Ground is listed as an asset of community value, following a successful application that was submitted by the Save Oakfield group.
