Owner plans to fence off private property that makes up much of Wolseley park

A piece of Wolseley green space is at the centre of a spat between a property owner and some neighbourhood residents.

William Marshall Park, at the end of Dominion Street along the Assiniboine River, has been used by neighbourhood residents for decades.

Because it's the size of a narrow city lot, people also have been using the previously city-leased private land next to it, making the park larger.

Now the owner sayshe has been"disturbed in recent years by the illegal activities going on out our front windows and frustrated by litter and vandalism,"and he plans to fence it off.

One neighbour, who has been going to the park since he was a kid, hopes to convince the owner to change his mind.

"Absolutely it is the right of the owner of the property to do with it as they wish. We're really just hoping to try to convince them to do otherwise because of how much this park means to the neighbourhood," Karl Gowenlock said in an interview on CBCManitoba's Information Radio.

The park is frequently used as a toboggan slope in the winter and is popular with dog walkers in the summer.

A City of Winnipeg spokesperson told CBC the city leased the land from previous owners between 1986 and 2009, when the last lease expired.

The current owner declined an interview, but told the CBC via email he declined the city's lease renewal agreement which he said was an offerof $1 per year, plus maintenance and insurance.

He also saiddespite some people being upset, many Wolseley neighbours have thanked his family for sharing the land and wished them well.

Gowenlock and some other residents have started a Facebook group, "Coalition to save Dominion Street Park,"to organize efforts to convince the property owner to allow the public to keep using the park. He believes area residents who use the park would be willing to help address the owner's concerns about vandalism and litter.

If that doesn't work,the city could expropriate the land, Gowenlock said.

The owner said he's enjoyed sharing the property with the public, but now he'd like to use it for his own purposes, including planting trees and a garden.