A PIECE of land which has been used by children for generations could be sold at auction.

United Utilities had put up a piece of land at the end of Empress Drive on Walney Island for a guide price of £5,000 - but yesterday said it had postponed it while it considers ‘further matters’.

A community group is looking at ways to raise enough money to purchase the 580sq.m parcel of land. They will be meeting this evening at 6pm at the Ocean Wave Community Centre on Ocean Road.

Ian Singleton, 41, who lives on Empress Drive, said: “Kids have been playing on this patch of land for generations and we were hoping that when it came time to sell the land the community might be able to buy it.

“I even maintained the land for a period and it was only after discussions with United Utilities that they started to.”

The community has enlisted the support of Barrow MP John Woodcock and Walney South county councillor Frank Cassidy.

Mr Woodcock had written to United Utilities asking them to consider removing the patch of land from public auction and instead give the young families of Walney a chance to buy it.

Mr Cassidy said: “United Utilities owns the land, but the company has not operated the septic tanks that lie beneath its surface for around 20 years while families have made use of the green space for generations. It is a safe haven for children to play in and it is a treasured part of the local environment.”

A spokesperson for United Utilities said: “This is an area of brownfield land that was previously one of our wastewater assets. While it is not an immediate hazard to anyone accessing it, because of its former use it is likely that costly clean-up work may need to be carried out in the future. For this reason, and as a responsible company, we would not necessarily recommend this site as suitable for local community ownership. We have taken the decision to postpone the auction while we consider the matter further.”

Pugh Auctions describe the site as a ‘development opportunity’.