A SECOND parish poll over the issue of the Grange Memorial Fields has been threatened by a newly-formed group demanding that a charitable trust be set up to run the playing fields.

The Friends of Grange Memorial Fields has twice written to Grange Town Council calling for the return of the deeds to the land from South Lakeland District Council and for a committee to be set up to run and maintain the fields.

It threatens: "If the council does not agree to seek the return of the deeds then we will be calling a parish meeting and seeking a parish poll on this issue."

In March, around 20 per cent of the Grange-over-Sands electorate went to the polling booths to register its views about whether part of the publicly-owned playing fields should be leased to the North Lonsdale Tennis Club to build private courts, which would also have been made available for the community.

It was a poll which split the community with 420 voting against the decision, supported by SLDC and the town council, and 261 voting in favour.

Town councillors later accepted the result of the referendum and it has since urged SLDC to accommodate the tennis courts at Berners Close, the site for the proposed new swimming pool.

North Lonsdale Tennis Club has not yet started building the courts, despite having planning permission from the district council.

Coun Bill Wearing said the financial implications to the town council of running and maintaining the fields was quite onerous and added that the Friends should be made aware of the costs involved.

But the secretary of the Friends, Ron Hayhurst, argues that SLDC is not maintaining the fields properly.

He says that if a charitable trust is formed then it would be possible to apply for lottery funding and cites the example of Arnside, where the playing fields are run by the parish council, which has been awarded money to build a new pavilion.

He added that the management of the fields should go back to how it was when it was run by a committee made up of town councillors and members of the community.

Parish councillors agreed that a meeting be arranged between representatives from the town council and the Friends to discuss the way forward.