COUNCILLORS at the centre of a land dispute over former parkland are hoping to secure funding to provide a play facility for villagers.

Members of Dene Valley Parish Council formed the Auckland Park Recreation Park charity in a bid to resurrect the former Miners' Welfare Trust, which was set up by contributions from local miners to build and maintain a park for residents during the 1930s and 40s.

But the new charity has no money to fund a park and is hoping to get its hands on cash set aside for recreation by developers, which have built homes in the village.

Councillor Chris Foote Wood, chairman of the group, said that Wear Valley District Council was given £9,000 from a development in Pilkington Way, and a further £14,000 from a development in Morton Close, under a section 106 agreement, which developers are obliged to abide by.

The council is also expecting £32,000 from a development in St Philips Close.

The Auckland Park Recreation Park charity has applied to the district council's central resources committee in the hope that the money may be handed over to them to build a recreation facility in Auckland Park.

Coun Foote Wood said: "There are three very successful developments in Auckland Park but there are no community facilities available.

"There has been a lot of regeneration in Dene Valley, but Auckland Park is yet to benefit from any of this.

"We are hoping that the committee will take a sympathetic view on this and allocate the money to us.

"We are a charity but we have no money yet.

"This money will open the doors for us to apply for match funding.''

The land where the charity is planning to build the park is at the centre of a land dispute, after the Land Registry accepted a claim of squatter's rights, registering it to an individual.

The land is now scheduled for development.

Coun Foote Wood said: "We have registered a claim with the Land Registry to recover the land and we are waiting on the outcome from that.''

The park funding will be discussed at a meeting of Wear Valley District Council's Central Resources Committee on Wednesday.