Residents of Percy Thrower Avenue in Bomere Heath, Shropshire, are living in fear. They are worried that developers have their eyes set on bulldozing their gardens and storming their properties. Homeowners were served letters from the landowner insisting that their existing boundary line fences trespass on his property. This triggered a dangerous turning point in the crisis.
…my house reeks of sewer Mrs. Alex Titley is one of the disappointed residents. She shared that the landowner intends to cut 2.5 meters of her 8 meter long garden. This action is estimated to lead to her losing over a quarter of her private outdoor space. She articulated the huge stress these demands have created, saying, “The constant worry this has caused is unreal. And it’s outrageous that these folks think they can just wade in and claim a quarter of what belongs to us. This is particularly egregious when it occurs inside our official jurisdictional boundary.
Residents’ patience with dangerous conditions has boiled over. Or they’re angry to find out that developers are going to remove the privacy fences along their backyards, fences that have existed in some cases for almost 20 years. Depending on how fast the process moves, the removal could go through as early as Wednesday which would be 28 days after the first notification was received.
Neighborhood resident Alex Titley expressed sadness, saying, “I could lose two trees and have to move my shed, pots and garden ornaments – it’s difficult to imagine that I’ve lived on the close for almost 20 years. Her neighbor, artist and activist Jonathan Kessel-Fell, was equally concerned. He lamented that his granddaughter no longer plays in his yard due to the continuous crisis. As he said, “We’ve been maintaining the border, which is on their property deeds, for 20 years.”
Legal representatives from Lanyon Bowdler, acting for the residents, assert that the landowner’s position regarding the boundary is “completely mistaken.” Here, plaintiffs’ solicitors insisted that the boundary fences have set for 20 years and its location on right. While they acknowledged that if there were any major issues back in 2004, those boundaries have since been set in stone by the statute of limitations.
Representatives from J. Harper and Sons have stated that “there is no legal duty on the landowner to reinstate” any features once removed. This inconsistency has put residents and would-be renters at risk, not knowing their rights and having little to no recourse.
The Housing Plus Group, the affordable developers at the center of the plan, put out a statement conceding many of residents’ concerns. They promised the affected community, “We are committed to working with all stakeholders to arrive at an amicable and fair resolution.” However, reassuring this official declaration is, fear is still running rampant among homeowners at the prospect of losing their gardens to the bayou restoration efforts.
Tempers are flaring, narrowly averted tragedy. Alex Titley has threatened that if any damage is done to their homes during this stormy course of events, they will call the police.
