Are YOU affected by the development? Email adam.pogrund@dailymail.co.uk
Furious residents living on a street named after Blue Peter gardener Percy Thrower have won a fight against developers who were attempting to bulldoze their lawns to build new homes.
Green-fingered locals on Percy Thrower Avenue in Bonmere Heath, Shropshire, were warned in May they had just 28 days to clear their gardens before developers would take ‘action to remove the encroachment’.
Housing Plus Group claimed gardens had strayed beyond the legal boundary and onto land not belonging to them.
Residents said the threat had caused an ‘unbelievable’ level of anxiety among the community.
But last week they received letters saying their gardens were safe, with a ‘thorough investigation’ leading to the U-turn.
Alex Titley, 45, said developers were demanding that she give up 8ft of her garden.
She said residents were ‘relieved’ they can now enjoy their gardens without fear of it being destroyed but were frustrated not to receive an apology.
‘My garden is my sanctuary. It’s a peaceful place for me while I struggle to cope with my daughter’s health problems.
Furious residents living on a street named after Blue Peter gardener Percy Thrower have won a fight against developers who were attempting to bulldoze their lawns to build new homes
Green-fingered locals Percy Thrower Avenue in Bonmere Heath, Shropshire, were warned they had just 28 days to clear their gardens before developers would ‘take action’
Alex Titley, 45, said developers were demanding that she give up 8ft of her garden
‘The anxiety this has caused is unbelievable.
‘To think these people think they can just wade in and demand a quarter of it when it is inside our registered boundary is absurd.’
The accountant added: ‘I had a mixed reaction to receiving the letter.
‘I felt a huge amount of relief, it has been such a stressful and anxiety-provoking time.
‘But I was also annoyed and vexed that there was no apology from them for the stress it had caused us.
‘It has been a super stressful few months for everyone involved.
‘I am over the moon that it has been resolved, it should have never happened in the first place – but at least there is relief now.’
Ms Titley, who has lived in her home for 20 years, said she would have lost two of her trees and her beloved shed if the developers pressed forward with plans.
The company claimed the residents’ gardens have strayed beyond the legal boundary and onto land not belonging to them.
But residents say the developers are wrong and lodged an appeal to temporarily stop the bulldozers.
Housing Plus Group said they wanted to ‘maintain positive relationships with the local community’ and pulled back on plans
Last week residents received letters saying their gardens were safe, with a ‘thorough investigation’ leading to the U-turn
Jonathan Kessel-Fell, 54, said: ‘We have been looking after the boundary, which is on their deeds, for 20 years.
‘We’re all in really busy jobs and our gardens are our sanctuary.
‘We’re not against the houses being built, we just want a conversation with the construction company and the landowner.’
Ms Titley added: ‘When we first got the letter, we thought how on earth do we fight back.
‘But, thank goodness we did and we have got this turned around.
‘During the summer we weren’t able to do our normal garden jobs as we were unsure what would happen.
‘Our summer was on hold in terms of enjoying our garden.’
In the letter sent to residents, Housing Plus Group said they wanted to ‘maintain positive relationships with the local community’.
‘We will continue to ensure that any future communications on development matters are handled sensitively and clearly,’ it added.
Share or comment on this article:
Residents living on street named after Blue Peter gardener Percy Thrower win fight to stop developers from bulldozing their lawns
Comments are closed.