GAZETTE & HERALD: A CHILDREN'S nursery has been threatened with legal action because the manager refuses to pay for tots to play at the village park.

Box Parish councillors say the Magic Dragon Nursery should pay £250 a year rent for letting its children play in the public park.

They have sent a solicitors letter to the nursery warning that they are considering taking out an injunction over its use of the green area, known as the rec.

The manager of the nursery, Sheelagh Jones said she was furious at the demand for payment, arguing that the parents of the 18 children already pay for the upkeep of the village's recreation ground through their council tax.

But Parish and district councillor, Margaret Rousell said: "We tried to negotiate with her but we got nowhere so we issued an injunction."

The land was given to the public in the 1920s by landowner George Kidston. The deeds state: "An adequate portion of the land hereby conveyed shall be reserved as a playground for the school children of Box."

Coun Rousell said: "The land was left to the people of Box as a gift but the parish council run it and it costs a lot of money.

"The football club, school and bowling club pays. People who use it permanently on a regular basis should pay.

"It's not fair that she doesn't want to pay when other people pay and she is the only one that is running a private business. The clubs are not businesses and the school is not a business and they pay a lot more."

Clerk to the parish council, Margaret Carey estimated Box CofE School paid around £900 a year.

Mrs Jones, 52, who has worked at the nursery for 27 years said the children who regularly attend her nursery were part of the Box community and should be able to use the land

"All we want to do is let the children run around," she said.

The average Box resident pays £1,199 a year in council tax, of which £65 goes to the parish council. This means up to £1,176 is being paid to the parish council each year by the parents of the youngsters.

But the land costs the council £28,000 to run and they get only about £6,000 from local agencies, Coun Rousell argued.