A DELIVERY driver taking newspapers to a Teesdale shop is damaging the village green by cutting across it with his van, a resident has alleged.

In agreeing with the complaint, Coun Neville Singleton told members of Cockfield Parish Council they had been fortunate with the hot summer, but it would soon end up a quagmire.

"We seem to talk about things, but they keep re-occurring," he said. "As a parish council we have a legal obligation to do something.

"It is not just at the paper shop. There are cars standing on the paths opposite the school, but nothing gets done about it. We should be asking why," he added.

Coun Barry Maughan thought village green laws archaic. If it was up to him he would retain the large greens but he felt the small patches, like the two feet of mud near the toilets, would be better made into hardstanding. He also mooted the idea of lay-bys with proper kerbing.

He felt parking was a matter of consideration and thought they ought to circulate that message through the Press and the Village Voice. Coun Brenda Singleton pointed out that there would also be the issue of obstruction when the Disability Act came into force next year.

Problems were also outlined near the doctors' surgery and post office, with cars parked on the path either side of the road and hardly enough room for buses to get through. Since a notice went up in the surgery, people were not parking on the green. However, they were now parking with four wheels on the road, which narrowed the gap even further. Buses were compounding the problem by using Manor Grove to turn and wait, rather than heading to the top of the village. Yellow lines had been mooted but turned down by highways officials.

After a lengthy discussion, members agreed that Mrs Charlton write to the local beat officer, Brendan Coll, updating him on the various parking problems, including the top of village, outside local pubs, the post office and the doctors' surgery. She is also to write to the bus company asking that drivers use the proper turning point at Hollymoor to alleviate congestion in the middle of the village.

Mrs Charlton had been telephoned by a solicitor about the sale of a house which fronted onto the village green, checking whether the parish council would charge for any rights of way or access.

The call came following a clause in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which came into force last year and allows owners of common land the right to charge a one-off fee of up to 2pc of a property's value in return for access.

"I told him that the parish council only paid for the upkeep of the greens, but that Raby Estates was the owner," she told members. "I later heard that Lord Barnard is charging £300 for access to that particular property, which of course he is entitled to do."

However, Coun Barry Maughan thought it a bit rich that members were paying for the maintenance of the greens, via the parish precept, for Raby Estates to be reaping the benefits.

"Surely we would be within our rights to be asking them for some of that money towards repairing the damaged greens," he added.

Despite telephone calls by the D&S Times to Raby Estates, the eventual reply was that they had "decided that no one is available for comment at this moment in time."

The Government has said that the legislation strikes a fair balance, granting landowners reasonable compensation in return for permanent access rights.

Many prospective buyers only become aware of a potential problem when surveys reveal that permission is not in place