Man shells out £18k for round-the-clock security guard to protect tiny wall from being ripped down

A Gloucester man has racked up a bill approaching £18,000 to station security guards outside a tiny inherited wall that property developers wish to tear down.

Roger White, 59, has been shelling out £150 daily since February to have the modest structure watched around the clock.

The wall in question stands just two bricks high and sits adjacent to a 70-home development in Hempsted being built by Lioncourt Homes.

Mr White inherited the 52-year-old structure from his father back in 1997, and the developer maintains it must be removed to establish an emergency vehicle access route as required by their planning consent.

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However, Mr White contests the company's right to demolish it, insisting the wall sits on land bequeathed to him by his late father.

The structure holds deep sentimental value for Mr White, whose father Ernie worked as an estate agent in Gloucester and acquired several "ransom strips" as investment opportunities.

Mr White said: "He left me the wall and told me to keep an eye on it and that it would be worth something one day, and that's why I felt so strongly, and fought so hard, but it has affected my life."

Should negotiations prove successful, Mr White hopes to purchase the wall, salvage its bricks, and reconstruct it at his own property as a memorial to his father.

"If we do come to an agreement and dismantle the wall, I'll do it again at my house in memory of my dad and the fact that this has been such a big issue," he explained.

"I don't want to just see the wall go to the tip."

The ownership dispute centres on conflicting documentation, with Lioncourt reportedly holding papers from 1964 suggesting the wall belongs to them, whilst Mr White possesses documents dated 1971 that he maintains prove his ownership, including Land Registry evidence.

The plot was valued at £10,000 in 2017.

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Mr White said: "If somebody had shown me a piece of paper which says that I was totally wrong and the wall is part of the adopted highway and I didn't own it, then I would've not have pursued it."

The dispute has consumed more than a year of his life, with Mr White describing it as a constant "distraction" that has taken over his daily existence.

"Every day there was some development about the wall it's taken over my life," he added.

Lioncourt Homes maintains that all work required under their planning permission falls within land they own outright or on adopted highway land, meaning no third-party property is necessary.

A spokesman for the company previously stated: "We continue to work closely with all parties involved and in accordance with the approved planning conditions set by Gloucester City Council."

Gloucestershire County Council has indicated that legal boundaries take precedence regardless of physical appearance, and highway status supersedes ground ownership, meaning the emergency access works can lawfully proceed.

Mr White disputes that the developer has met planning requirements, maintaining he owns the land needed for access.

Nevertheless, following a recent meeting with Lioncourt, he remains optimistic about reaching a settlement.

"I am hopeful of coming to a resolution after over a year of being ignored, but we are not there yet," he said.

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