Fence dispute is making my life a misery (From This Is Wiltshire)

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Fence dispute is making my life a misery

11:50am Wednesday 10th February 2010 in Latest News Photograph of the Author By Hayley Court

HOUSE-PROUD Highworth man David Curtis says his life has been made miserable since he claimed a 20ft plot of overgrown land beside his home.

Mr Curtis, of Barra Close, has been at the centre of a boundary dispute between his neighbours and village green supporters since he put in a planning application to make the ‘disused’ piece of land between his street and Windrush part of his garden in July 2009.

The 54-year-old now risks losing the strip after objectors put in an application to add it to unadopted land recently given village green status.

The special status was awarded at a meeting of Swindon Council’s Footpaths and Rights of Way Committee on January 27, but members were unable to make a decision on the future of Mr Curtis’ ‘adopted’ land because of insufficient evidence from the applicants.

“If I had known it was going to create this much fuss I probably would never have bothered,” said Mr Curtis.

“I have been maintaining that overgrown strip for years so I decided to apply to add it to my garden as is my right. Fast forward to now and I am being vilified as some sort of land-grabber because I have claimed 20ft.”

Mr Curtis says his position on the village green is largely misunderstood by its supporters.

“I wholeheartedly support the village green,” he said. “I think children deserve to have somewhere to play in safety and where they can be watched over, and the unadopted land between Barra Close and Windrush provides just that.

“But I don’t think my 20ft makes a difference because until I started looking after it, it was always too overgrown for children to play in. In fact children used to climb in the trees that made up my hedge instead. If they’d had an accident, no doubt I would be responsible.

“This battle to have this made part of the green is fuelled by nothing but jealousy.”

Mr Curtis erected the fence around the land in April 2009 before putting the application in four months later. Village Green supporters then submitted their own application in September but omissions on the form meant adopting the land Mr Curtis had claimed could not go ahead.

Mr Curtis is now waiting for the next meeting of the Footpaths and Rights of Way Committee to find out if he will keep the land.

“I just don’t know how it has come to this,” he said.

“I think this could have all been sorted out if we all sat down and discussed it. Instead I have been made to look like I have committed some sort of crime.

“I don’t believe that anyone else in my position would not have done the same.”

Comments(20)

reality_check says...
12:33pm Wed 10 Feb 10

"Mr Curtis erected the fence around the land in April 2009 before putting the application in four months later."
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More fool Mr Curtis. If only he'd gone about this properly then there'd be no problem.