ON my estate we do not have pavements, instead there is what is called a ‘service strip’. This is an invisible two metres which extends from the kerb in the road towards the house.

Next to my house, this service strip is basically grass and shrubbery. For the six years I have lived at my house, I have maintained this piece of land as I believed from the deeds that it was half my land and half my neighbour at the back.

When I came into some money, I had my driveway done and moved the fence out to the road to eliminate the expense and effort of maintaining the land (the last time I had the hedge cut it cost me £150).

The Council came down on me like a ton of bricks, telling me I had in effect built on the Highway, and what I had done was tantamount to building across the pavement. I pointed out that several properties in my road had done the same sort of thing, which as one of the main reasons I thought I was ok to do this.

They agreed that a blanket enforcement would take place (it hasn’t). They said I had to remove the fence or they would serve me with an enforcement notice and remove the fence themselves and give me the bill for this. This in spite of the fact that there are no services whatsoever under this piece of land.

I sought help from my local Councillor (Simms) but she said that she couldn’t help. I asked why I was being singled out for enforcement and she said it was because the Council had received a complaint about my fence, presumably from a neighbour.

The remaining bushes ( on the other half of the service strip) are so overgrown they are growing THROUGH my fence, so I asked the Council to maintain them as they are on the highway. However, I have been told that the Highways Department has closed my case stating that ‘it’s nothing to do with us One man from the Highways department said to me: “If I had a pound note for every time this service strip thing happened”. I’d like to know what is happening to raise public awareness of this and how many times people in St Helens have been forced to comply with this policy?

Currently, the Council have given me until May to remove the fence and what I’d like to know is has anyone else been the victim of this kind of scenario over service strips? Seeing as I’ve now been told the bushes are in my property I’m now assuming this is no longer necessary.

I would also like to know, is it Council policy only to enforce policy when they receive a complaint as in my case? And why isn’t the issue of service strips better publicised to avoid this kind of upset in the first place?

CATH O’Neill, Eccleston