Fury in UK town as locals wake up to find huge fence at bottom of gardens

The field, located just off Estcourt Road in Longlevens, Gloucester, and now encircled by metal fencing, was bought by the University of Gloucestershire in 2015.

The university said it was protecting its private property ahead of putting the land on the market, but locals claim they were given no prior warning of the sale, with one resident likening her situation to feeling like a “hamster” in her own home.

In response, a community group is currently raising funds with the aim of potentially buying the field to preserve it as a public green space. Mark Palmer, 56, expressed his disappointment at the sudden appearance of the fence, which he described as “disheartening”, especially as his family used the field “everyday”.

He elaborated: “These houses were built in the 1930s and the developers put the back gate onto this land when the houses were built so the residents of this road have had access to that field uninterruptedly since the 1930s.

“It is not just a field – we deem it as a community field. Lots of people meet there, runners, people walking their dogs.

“It is not just good for the residents and the people but for the ecology of the area – we see lots of bats, foxes, rabbits and mice.”

December’s sudden appearance of fences around the community has left residents more than just a little upset. “It was very disheartening back in December when all of a sudden out of the blue part of the fencing turned up and on a Monday it was erected and then on a Tuesday it was pushed right up against people’s boundaries so no one could open their gate,” remarked Mr Palmer, who is at the forefront of residents’ efforts to buy the land.

“All we really want is to be able to have an ongoing relationship with the university and try and come up with a mutual way in which the residents and the community are able to purchase this field.

“The university have made it very clear that they do not want us there which is not going with the community spirit.”

Local butcher Anna Powell, 48, complained about feeling like a “hamster” in her own home as the encroaching fence obstructs her view and infringes upon her property. She asked, “I have a solid secure fence in a good condition – why put that up right next to a solid secure fence?

“I had a meeting with them and they said they were going to lower the fence – it is almost three weeks later and it is still not done.”

The lack of communication from authorities has been palpable for Powell; “No knock on the door, no letter through the letterbox, nothing. The first I knew something was happening was when we saw the Harris fencing being delivered and being dropped off in piles.

“This feels like bullying tactics and the fencing is basically for the householders to say ‘you ain’t coming here’.”

Anna reminisced about the countless times she and her family enjoyed the local field, saying, “We have played baseball, we have flown kites, we have built snowman, we have picked blackberries – I have used that field for loads of activities.

“We have got our dog four years ago and we exercise the dog on there. He loves sitting here and watch dogs walking around.

“I get to wave at people and you get to know people – it was a real community feel and I am actually missing people walking past the house.”

Despite recent changes, she noted, “There is still a dog walker every morning who comes through the left of it because there are still gaps in the field you can still access the field.”

Local resident Richard Young, in his 60s and retired, expressed his discontent with the fencing, recalling, “We would often come and play on this field here and there was never any problem accessing the field and no one ever told us we couldn’t do it.

“One of the attractions of the house was the access to the field.”

He summarised the neighbourhood’s feelings: “Everybody down here are unhappy. It is a nice green space – lots of wild flowers and we have picked blackberries when they are in season.

His wife, Jane Young, aged 69 and also retired, said: “We could have been consulted.

“If they build there now with housing we are going to be overload – it is going to devalue the property. It is quite sad really.

“We weren’t told it was going to happen. I understand – it is their land they are perfectly entitled to do what they want,” she said.

“Nothing stays the same forever. But for an organisation that’s within a community we already put up with quite a lot of problems with their traffic and they could have at least inform us that they were going to do it.

“It is frustrating because we don’t have access to our boundaries now and they didn’t maintain it.

“They said that they needed to mark out their boundary wall – there was already fences there so I really don’t understand that.”

A response from a University of Gloucestershire spokesperson attempted to reassure the locals, saying: “We have put a fence around our site because, like any landowner, we do need to ensure our private property is secure and that our rights over the land are clear.

“While the land is private property with no right of access or ‘right of way’ in place, we are keen to ensure that we maintain a positive relationship with our neighbours, so we have arranged drop-in sessions for residents to meet with senior members of our team so we can understand their concerns and answer any questions they may have.”