A woman is considering legal action after workers on a neighbouring building site put up an 8ft-high metal fence through the middle of her garden. Gillian Arnold said the workers "were not going to stop" as they installed the fence this week.
Lawyers for developer Camstead Homes say the land, off Abbey Road in Shepley, is part of the site where they are building a housing estate. But Mrs Arnold says she has maintained the land as an allotment for almost 20 years, reports YorkshireLive.
She said: "We have been in dispute [about the land] since last year. They say it's theirs. But it's not in their plans and they don't show it being used. They warned me they were going to [put the fence up]. I said they couldn't because we were in dispute [about the ownership] but they have decided that the land is theirs.
"They said they'd sent a letter to me but I've never seen it. They will not even share the said letters with my lawyers, so I can only believe they don’t exist. In fact they said they'd sent it to my lawyer, but I didn't even have a lawyer at the time.
The fence that has divided a garden on Abbey Road, Shepley, Huddersfield in a dispute over who owns the land. (Image: LDRS)
"Then they brought it round. The man who delivered it took a picture of himself posting it through our door. It was dated April.
"My take would be that because the land is disputed, then they should not be on there concreting enormous posts into my gardens. My greenhouse is on one side and I am on the other. This is bully-boy tactics, and it's out of order. I'm considering an injunction."
A spokesperson for Camstead Homes said: "The company has legal ownership of the land in question. It has erected a fence around its property to secure it, pending development. It would not be appropriate for us to comment any further in relation to this private matter."
Councillor John Taylor said he was "gobsmacked" when he saw the fence and suggested the dispute should be settled by legal means.
He said: "I am shocked at the way the developer has behaved. This is clearly a legal boundary dispute that needs settling through the courts and not by constructing a fence through the middle of somebody's garden.
The fence that has divided a garden on Abbey Road, Shepley, Huddersfield in a dispute over who owns the land. (Image: LDRS)
"While that goes through the courts I would expect the developer to behave in an appropriate manner given that ultimately this is their neighbour."
Kirklees Council approved the contentious plan to build up to 34 homes on the site ain May 2020. The decision to approve the scheme was made by the council under executive powers enacted during lockdown as its committees were unable to meet.
