PLANS for Melksham Town Council to take over ownership of ‘The Friends Garden’ are moving forward.
The town council agreed in principle in July last year to take on ownership of the community space – located behind the former spiritualist church on King Street – pending advice from a solicitor about what their financial responsibility would be for the access road off King Street, which is shared with local residents.
As the access road is not registered with the Land Registry, and a public right of way is not acknowledged on the deeds of neighbouring properties, solicitors have advised the council to collect evidence that members of the public have had “free and unfettered” access to the garden over the last 20 years.
“If we are going to take over this asset, we need to ensure that the right of way for ourselves, our grounds maintenance team and the public, is available to us,” explained the town council’s economic development manager, David McKnight, at an asset management meeting last month. The solicitor’s advice is to gather enough statements from people who have had access to the garden – free and unfettered – over the last 20 years on a continuous basis.”
Councillors highlighted that the garden has regular visits from families paying their respects to individuals buried in the garden, or individuals that have memorial stones in the garden. It was agreed that attempts will be made to trace these families to gain their support.
The future of the community space has been at the centre of discussions between the town council and the trustees of the former spiritualist church, who own the space, since 2012.
