Sorry over garden mess (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Sorry over garden mess

10:41am Friday 15th March 2013 in Andover

Sorry over garden mess

A PRIVATE garden was taken over for more than a week by builders working on a nearby access road.

John Duffy was angry to discover that his garden, to the side of his house in Vigo Road, Andover, was used to store a large pile of earth, a digger and other building vehicles while the adjacent access road was resurfaced.

When the houseowner approached Purbeck Civil Engineering – contracted by Aster to do the work – he claims he was not given an explanation or asked for permission to use the unfenced land.

However, after the Andover Advertiser took photos last Tuesday, the vehicles and equipment were moved off Mr Duffy’s lawn.

And the homeowner has now received an apology from Aster, who claimed it was a genuine mistake by the contractors.

Mr Duffy said: “Luckily around here the soil is pretty stable as it’s so stony so when they left there wasn’t any damage.

“It was just the fact that nobody bothered to tap on the door to say anything.

“They must have known it was a garden as the house on the other side has put a wall around their garden.”

A spokesman for Aster said: “We’ve visited the site with the contractor and apologised to Mr Duffy personally.“ The contractor made a genuine mistake as the land concerned did not visibly look part of the property, as boundary fencing was located elsewhere.

“Once this was brought to the contractor’s attention, all materials were removed from the area straight away.

“We’re still investigating whether any discussions took place between the two parties.

“Mr Duffy is happy with our response and agrees there was no damage to his land.”