Haines Croft kissing gate may not get fence for months
A kissing gate which drew criticism after being built in the middle of a Wiltshire field may not have an adjoining fence for months.
The gate in the field at Haines Croft belongs to the Golden Fleece Cricket Club and is one of two built to meet a planning permission requirement.
The club said the gate was part of a change of use of the field.
"We've not got enough money for fence yet but hope to later this year," said club secretary John Dickens.
The club had to find a new ground after the lease expired on the field it was using and it became unavailable for renewal.
"We were offered land by the owner of Wootton Golf Club and converted it into a cricket field last year," said Mr Dickens.
'Gateway to nowhere'
"We've just put up a new £10,000 pavilion and part of the planning permission included putting a fence across [the field] as there's a right of way."
The field will be subdivided by the fence to separate the cricket pitch from cattle grazing on the other side.
"Before we build a fence we've got to kit the pavilion out but we hope to have the money by the end of the year," said Mr Dickens.
The club said it also hoped to plant a 90m (295ft) hedgerow of native trees along the fence-line with the help of The Woodland Trust.
The gate attracted criticism from independent Wiltshire councillor Terry Chivers who questioned why it had been built and who had paid for it.
Mr Chivers said he had been at the opening of the new pavilion at the cricket club when he was asked by local residents why the council was "wasting money" on a "gateway to nowhere".
A statement from Wiltshire Council said the gate had been built by "volunteers from the Ramblers Association to ensure it was in the correct position prior to the fence being erected".