RUDLOE residents are outraged that part of Leafy Lane woodland will be put up for sale at auction in a fortnight – with many fearing they could lose access to the land altogether.

The area is owned by Leafy Lane Playing Fields Ltd, a registered charity that was set up in 1996 and has since received grants and donations to enable it to buy both the wood and large adjoining field develop the sports ground and build the club house.

The two largest grants were £425,000 from Sports England via the Lottery commission and £75,000 from North Wilts District Council.

But on September 17, five acres of woodland out of a total of 23-acres will be sold at auction to the highest bidder with many residents concerned over its future.

Robert Davies, 70, of Springfield Close, said he is worried that if placed into the wrong hands, the 200-year-old woodland will be lost forever.

“At the time of when they first had the land they invited people to walk in Leafy Lane and they put a footpath at the back for people to use,” he said.

“It is not just dog walkers who use the woodland area but a lot of other people too who like to have an afternoon walk there and it is lots of wildlife there and people enjoy it so it is very troubling to think that they say it is underused.

“I am surprised that they have decided to sell it at auction because it is like lottery selling and we do not know who the new owner is. There is no guarantee they will continue letting the community use the land and to sell it to the highest bidder risks having it fenced off for other uses which would be a real shame.

“If the trustees consulted with the community, we could have helped them financially and helped them to manage the woodland area.”

Robert Mullins, who is one of the five trustees of Leafy Lane, said although he could not comment on speculation regarding the new owner, he wanted to assure the community that the sale is above board and legal.

He added: “We are a registered charity and we are selling of part of the land that we do not use and we are hoping to raise money which will be put back into improving the sporting facilities that are already there.

“There has been a public notice in place informing people about it which has been up since August 13.

“We have had responses from people about the sale which have been generally negative because they see it as a loss of facilities.

“We are selling the land for the best of the charity we run. We want to secure the financial viability of the charity and we want to take it further and move forward with the facilities currently there.”

The land has been given a guide price of £50,000 from Strakers and is due to be sold at auction on September 17 at the Corn Exchange in Devizes.