Residents in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, were told they had been trespassing on their own gardens for decades after Erewash Borough Council claimed ownership of the land
David Woodhouse, 52, said he was unaware he did not own half of his garden(Image: MEN)
Residents in a Derbyshire town have been warned to purchase or rent land they believed was their own garden – or face having it taken from them.
A row of 35 homes in Doncaster Grove, Long Eaton, have sizeable garden areas backing onto a tributary of the River Erewash and the Manor Farm and Toton Fields nature reserves.
However, two years ago, Labour-run Erewash Borough Council informed the homeowners that they don’t actually own what they consider their garden, and that they had effectively been illegally trespassing on the land for decades.
The council stated it was within its rights to reclaim the land and demolish everything currently on it, much to the shock and “disgust” of those affected. The gardens themselves have been carefully maintained over the years, complete with patios, fruit trees, sheds, workshops and greenhouses, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The council said it was giving residents the choice to pay a monthly rent to lease the land, purchase it outright, or surrender control, reports Derbyshire Live. It emerged at a meeting this week that 11 existing licences have so far been terminated, with two homeowners stating they do not wish to buy their plots, though a neighbour is set to do so.
Neighbours were stunned when they were told they were trespassing on their own gardens (Image: MEN)
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Three residents have also agreed to purchase their plots outright, two have agreed to buy in staged payments, while two have agreed to rent their plots and one property has been sold on Rightmove with the listing detailing that part of the rear garden is in council ownership.
The council maintains it has owned the land since 1995 following a land transfer with neighbouring Nottinghamshire authority Broxtowe Borough Council, which already had an arrangement allowing residents to rent the rear garden plots.
In 1996, residents asked to purchase the plots from Erewash Borough Council, but this was turned down, and instead £25 annual leases were put in place.
Since then, Erewash says, 34 of 35 houses encroached onto the council’s land, yet only 14 did so via a licence with up-to-date payments, with two having arrears of more than a year and a total of 18 homeowners using the land without any licence.
The council gave residents a choice to pay a monthly rent to lease the land(Image: MEN)
It said: “Those without licences are in effect trespassing and have unauthorised use of the land.”
The council dispatched initial letters to homeowners in late 2023, when Labour was in its first year in power for 20 years, informing them that they did not own the land and would need to either rent or purchase it.
A decision notice outlining next steps to “resolve the encroachment” was signed off by Labour’s council leader, Cllr James Dawson, in November 2024.
It was determined that initial rent offers would stand at £25 per year, with one larger garden plot to be charged at £50 annually. The initial purchase offer stood at £140 per square metre, with garden extension plots ranging from 30 to 70 square metres, plus one 200-square-metre lot, amounting to between £4,200 and £9,800, and £28,000 respectively.
Following considerable negotiation, this has been cut to a “final offer” of £50 per square metre, reflecting the fact that the gardens are situated within a floodplain, rendering them effectively worthless with no prospect of future development.
This reduces the purchase offers to £1,500 for the 30-square-metre plots, £3,500 for the 70-square-metre plots, and £10,000 for the 200-square-metre plot.
The council has ruled out cancelling the licences and reclaiming the sites by asking homeowners to restore the original fence lines, warning this could incur costs of up to £20,000, alongside potential reputational damage, protests, resistance and possible legal action.
Nevertheless, it opted to end existing licences in order to introduce new ones, which it could also raise as it deemed appropriate.
This week’s meeting reveals that a newly appointed estates and assets manager has examined the case files, including valuation approaches, concluding that the agreed price is “fair and reasonable”.
A final reminder letter is set to be dispatched to homeowners who have yet to engage — currently the majority of properties in Doncaster Grove. Options for those properties, agreed in 2024, include taking no further action, issuing formal legal letters, or reclaiming the plots via bailiffs.
The council has ruled out cancelling the licences and reclaiming the sites (Image: MEN)
David Woodhouse, 52, a care worker for a homelessness charity, has lived in Doncaster Grove for 16 years and was equally unaware that he did not own half of his garden.
He said: “Just do the right thing and sell it for a respectable price. Nobody is asking for it for free, we are willing to pay for it.
“I am not having a go at the council for everything they do, but their communication over this has been disappointing. It has been so poor. All the street has had anxiety and stress from it and we have all been treated with contempt and treated like the accused.”
A council spokesperson said: “Erewash Borough Council must manage public assets responsibly to ensure value for all taxpayers. To support Doncaster Grove residents, we have offered flexible options to make their land use official.
“This includes purchasing at heavily discounted rates, reflecting flood risks and restricted use as well as staged payments, or licensing agreements.
“We have engaged directly with householders to ensure transparency. Some residents have already accepted these fair terms and are proceeding. There is no obligation to participate; the choice to put their use of the land on a legal footing remains entirely with them.”
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