Boundary blow set to cost thousands
Resident ordered to shrink garden or buy land
A Coltness man has hit out at the council after being slapped with a “whopping bill” because his garden is too big.
Robert Hunter received a letter from North Lanarkshire Council in which the local authority states the size of the garden of his former council property must be reduced by several metres.
Robert, of Yarrow Crescent, claims a number of his neighbours have received the same letter and believes the cost to him could be thousand of pounds.
He said: “I estimate that it would cost me between £2500 and £3000.
“When I got the letter from the council I was shocked.
“In fact shocked would be an understatement.
“It also says I would have to pay the council’s fees and also legal fees. It’s a lot of money.
“My dad moved into this house when it was first built. That was 55 years ago. “He bought it around 40 years ago. “All of the houses have the gardens in the same place. Are they all going to have to be brought in?”
Robert raised the issue at a recent meeting of Coltness Community Council.
Community councillor Chic Richardson said: “The council could be sending letters to pensioners in their 70s and 80s asking them to bring their gardens back.
“This could open a real can of worms. Is this just affecting people in Coltness or is it across the whole of North Lanarkshire?”
Robert has since taken up his case with the council.
A council spokeswoman said: “A number of properties in Yarrow Crescent have extended their rear garden boundaries without permission into land owned by the council.
“To manage the situation consistently, property owners in this location who have extended their gardens are being offered the opportunity to buy the extra land or move their boundary fence back to the correct position set out in their deeds.
“The council seeks to take a consistent approach across the local authority area.
“The rates and fees applied are in line with council policy.”
A number of properties in Yarrow Crescent have extended their rear garden