Ilkley families told to remove sheds (From Ilkley Gazette)

Ilkley families told to remove sheds

7:16am Thursday 29th July 2010

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A woman has vowed to fight a David and Goliath battle against Bradford Council over a shed in her front garden.

Claire Mason and next door neighbours Mark and Fiona Bowness, have small identical sheds in the front gardens of their homes.

Now the council has told Mrs Mason and Mr and Mrs Bowness they must remove the structures, used mainly for storing bikes, because they are “an unsympathetic and incongruous feature” in the street, which falls within the Ilkley Conservation Area.

However, Mrs Mason, a nurse who has lived in the house in Lister Street, Ilkley, for six years with her husband and two children, is adamant the shed, which is almost the same height as a fence in her garden, is going nowhere.

She said the council told her only one complaint had been received about the shed at her home and the one at her neighbour’s home since they were both put up in November.

Mrs Mason says the council should take action against any other residents across Ilkley with sheds in the front gardens and not just against her and Mr and Mrs Bowness.

And she is determined to fight the ruling all the way.

“It just seems unfair,” she said. “I’m not going to take it lying down unless the council support me and sort others out too.

“What I want them to do is let me keep my shed up or enforce the policy across the whole town.

“It’s a bit like David versus Goliath, but I’m not going to give in easily.”

Mrs Mason believes her neighbours, who were unavailable for comment yesterday, will fight the enforcement action too.

According to identical reports to the council’s Area Planning Panel (Keighley) which will meet this Tuesday, enforcement action against both sheds started on July 7.

The reports say the timber structures have breached planning controls and were put up without permission.

“It is considered that the shed introduces an unsympathetic and incongruous feature within the street scene, detracting from the character and appearance of the original building and visual amenity of the street scene,” each report says.

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