Furious neighbour row erupts as pensioner quoted £60k to repair collapsed garden wall
Anthony Bailey, 83, discovered his back garden wall had collapsed earlier this year and he has been hit with a £60,000 bill to fix the problem
A pensioner has been slapped with a whopping £60,000 bill to mend his collapsed garden wall - which he blames on the neighbouring allotments.
Anthony Bailey, 83, was shocked to find his back garden wall had crumbled earlier this year. The Oxford resident's property backs onto allotments and he is convinced that these are responsible for the collapse.
Mr Bailey said: "The allotments have come right up to my 16-foot wall and pushed it down. I have been quoted £60,000 to fix this time around."
Anthony invited Oxford City Council to inspect the issue at his property but was left frustrated with the outcome. He said: "The council came round to my house and they're not interested.
"I do not want it rebuilt, all I have asked for them is to pull the earth back into the allotments so that it won't fall down. They have done it for other neighbours but for some reason, they won't do it for me.
"I'm trying to keep calm as I get on with my neighbours and good luck to them. I am starting to lose my temper as no one will listen whether that be the council or the insurers."
This isn't the first time that the wall has suffered damage as a similar problem occurred at the property in February 2017.
Mr Bailey said: "It has happened before and the council got a quote from a builder and this was nearly £40,00 to put it right. I said I could not afford it and I got a builder in myself to fix it and I had to pay £4,000.
"The new problem is a separate part of the wall from the originally affected section. If the council gave me a couple of thousand I could hire a couple of skips and the labour and do it myself."
Oxford City Council has acknowledged the issue, but say it does not stem from the allotments.
An Oxford City Council spokesperson stated: "Mr Bailey originally contacted the council about this issue in 2017 and our surveyors attended his property again last month.
"The wall is in a poor state of repair and we are concerned about its safety and stability. However, our surveys show this is not due to earth from the allotments.
"We have offered to help lower the wall to a structurally safe level and Mr Bailey is responsible for carrying out and paying for repairs."
