Dozens of residents in Long Eaton have been told they must either buy or rent land they believed was their garden – or face having it seized.
35 houses in Doncaster Grove, Long Eaton, include extensive gardens which back onto an offshoot of the River Erewash and the Manor Farm and Toton Fields nature reserves.
However, much to their surprise and “disgust”, two years ago Labour-run Erewash Borough Council informed the homeowners that they do not own much of what they call their garden and that residents have been effectively illegally trespassing for decades.
The authority said it was entirely within its rights to seize the land and bulldoze what is currently in place: gardens which have been lovingly tended for years, along with patios, fruit trees, sheds, workshops and greenhouses.
Council officials state it was offering residents the option to pay a monthly rent to lease the land, buy it outright, or relinquish control.
It was revealed at a meeting this week that, to date, 11 existing licences have been terminated; two homeowners have said they do not wish to buy their plots but that a neighbour will be doing so; three have agreed to buy them outright; two have agreed to buy, but in phased payments; two have agreed to rent their lots; and one property has been sold on Rightmove, with the listing detailing that part of the rear garden is in council ownership.
The council claims it has owned the land since 1995, following a land transfer with neighbouring Nottinghamshire authority Broxtowe Borough Council, which already had an agreement for residents to rent the rear garden plots.
In 1996, residents requested to buy the plots from Erewash Borough Council, but this was rejected and, instead, £25 annual leases were introduced.
Since then, Erewash says, 34 of 35 houses have extended into the council’s land, but only 14 did so via a licence with up-to-date payments, with two having arrears of more than a year and a total of 18 homeowners using the land without a licence.
It said: “Those without licences are, in effect, trespassing and have unauthorised use of the land.”
The council sent out initial letters to homeowners in late 2023, when Labour was in its first year in office for 20 years, informing them that they did not own the land and that they would either need to rent or buy it.
A decision notice for next steps to “resolve the encroachment” was signed off by Labour’s council leader, Cllr James Dawson, in November 2024.
It was decided that initial rent offers were £25 per year, with one larger garden plot to be charged £50 a year.
The first purchase offer was £140 per square metre, with the garden extension plots ranging from 30 to 70 square metres, plus one 200-square-metre lot, totalling £4,200 to £9,800 and £28,000, respectively.
Following extensive interventions, this has been reduced to a “final offer” of £50 per square metre, to take into account that the gardens sit in a floodplain, which is effectively of no value and has no prospect of future development.
This brings purchase offers to £1,500 for the 30-square-metre plots, £3,500 for the 70-square-metre plots, and £10,000 for the 200-square-metre plot.
The council has ruled out terminating the licences and repossessing the sites, asking the homeowners to reinstate the fence lines, saying this would lead to costs of up to £20,000, with further reputational risk, protest or resistance, and potential legal action.
However, it decided to terminate existing licences in order to bring in new ones, which it could also increase as it saw fit.
This week’s meeting noted that a newly appointed estates and assets manager has reviewed the case files for the issue, including valuation approaches, and says the agreed price is “fair and reasonable”.
A final reminder letter is to be sent to homeowners who have not engaged, which, to date, is the majority of properties in Doncaster Grove. Options for those properties, agreed in 2024, are to take no further action, issue formal legal letters, or repossess the plots through bailiffs.
Carol Haddad, a 51-year-old secondary school French teacher, moved to the road in 2004 and had no idea she did not own her whole garden until the 2023 council letter.
She said: “It has been a very upsetting process. I did not know at all, and I am angry and frustrated. The land can’t become building land, but they won’t listen to our views.
“There are elderly people, single parents and people from all different backgrounds living here, and they (the council) just want money to fill their budget.
“This has been hanging over our heads for years now, and it hasn’t been resolved, and the threatening letters and communication from the council have just not been fair – it is just not right.
“I am French, and this is our French Revolution; we won’t back down.”
An elderly resident who has lived in Doncaster Grove for 38 years, who also oversees a neighbouring rear plot, called the council’s handling of the situation “disgusting”.
She said: “I think the council just wanted money to turn it over. I would rather buy than rent, but it is just so unfair on people.
“Not everyone is able to afford to buy it; the council shouldn’t be allowed to do this.”
The resident has had a licence to rent the garden space during her entire residence and claims she had offered to buy it for £150, 25 years ago, but that the council backed out.
She said: “They are extorting people, really. It is a flooded area; it was three feet underwater in Storm Babet, and they are just trying to squeeze money out of people. It is very upsetting.”
David Woodhouse, 52, a care worker for a homelessness charity, has lived in Doncaster Grove for 16 years and also had no knowledge that he did not own half of his garden.
He said: “Just do the right thing and sell it for a respectable price. Nobody is asking for it for free; we are willing to pay for it.
“I am not having a go at the council for everything they do, but their communication over this has been disappointing. It has been so poor.
“All the street has had anxiety and stress from it, and we have all been treated with contempt and treated like the accused.”
He said the council has been urged to treat the prospective plots as low-quality agricultural plots and charge in the region of £11 per square metre for purchase offers.
Mr Woodhouse said: “People don’t have this kind of money in the bank. They have spent a lot of money sorting their gardens out and maintaining fantastic fruit trees, greenhouses, sheds and outhouses, and we could have all of this taken away from us.”
County councillor for the area, Cllr Jodie Brown, said she has been working on the issue since she came into office in May 2025.
She said: “Residents are so distressed; they have had this hanging over their heads for years. They have been breaking down in tears, thinking they won’t be able to sell their house; it has seriously impacted their mental health.
“The value of the land is no more than £2 per square metre; it can’t be accessed, built on, or even used for allotments, and they can’t take down what are ancient hedgerows.”
An email sent by council officials in early 2024 says their land value was based on other instances in which residents have bought council land to extend their gardens, in areas which “also abut water”.
The email says residents have been using the gardens for sheds, decking and outbuildings, so “this leads us to believe that flooding has not been a cause for concern until most recently”.
It confirms the fences will be removed if residents do not wish to purchase or rent the land.
A council spokesperson said: “Erewash Borough Council must manage public assets responsibly to ensure value for all taxpayers. To support Doncaster Grove residents, we have offered flexible options to make their land use official.
“This includes purchasing at heavily discounted rates, reflecting flood risks and restricted use, as well as staged payments, or licensing agreements.
“We have engaged directly with householders to ensure transparency. Some residents have already accepted these fair terms and are proceeding.
“There is no obligation to participate; the choice to put their use of the land on a legal footing remains entirely with them.”
