18 September 2023 , 17:26
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A green-thumbed grandad is locked in a battle with a council over his £1,300 greenhouse - all because it's made of glass.
Simon Cornish, 69, a retired primary teacher and gardening enthusiast, has been nurturing his 50ft x 33ft plot at the Hillside community allotment in Norwich for nearly a decade. Despite knowing that greenhouses were technically prohibited when he purchased them in 2018, he ensured it was constructed from sturdy safety glass that doesn't shatter.
However, the Thorpe St Andrew Town Council recently served notices to Cornish and other plot holders, demanding they dismantle their cherished structures. The council's refusal to "negotiate" or compromise over their blanket ban on glass-paned greenhouses has left Cornish fuming.
He said: "They just refused to negotiate or come to any compromise. Some of us like to buy a greenhouse when we retire instead of buying the latest car. It's a big outlay." Cornish argues that the council fails to distinguish between horticultural glass, which shatters and can contaminate the soil and cause damage, and the type of glass he uses. He insists: "What I have is very, very difficult to break, and when it does, it splits into square bits that don't cut."
In an attempt to resolve the issue, Cornish even invited an inspector from the National Allotment Society to his plot, who confirmed his greenhouse was indeed made of non-shattering 'tempered glass'. In a surprising turn of events, Simon contemplated appealing to King Charles, patron of the organisation, for assistance but discovered that Royal protocol prevents him from intervening in disputes.
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Simon shared: "Apparently he doesn't accept letters where he has to take sides, but I'm sure he would have his own views on it." The proud grandfather of three first acquired his half-plot allotment, nestled on the outskirts of Norwich at a local council-run site, back in 2014.
With limited space in his home garden, Simon was eager to cultivate fruits and vegetables on his new plot, joining a community of passionate gardeners. Five years ago, he decided to enhance his gardening venture by purchasing a modern greenhouse, made from nearly indestructible tempered safety glass. Simon even tested its durability by hitting it with a brick, which failed to cause any damage.
However, his horticultural dreams were shattered when Thorpe St Andrew Town Council ordered him to dismantle his cherished greenhouse, enforcing their ban on such structures. Simon expressed his frustration, saying: "Most organisations that run allotments ban glass ones but they usually allow these as they are modern and safe. There's no discussion they just ban it all. I'm so annoyed because I thought I'd done the right thing in replacing mine."
He further demonstrated the resilience of his greenhouse, stating, "I had a spare one with the same glass as mine so I tried to break it but I just couldn't do it, the only thing which would break it is dropping it from a great height." In a heated dispute over greenhouse regulations, one disgruntled gardener lamented, "Ordinary ones break in hot weather, but my greenhouse is not cheap it's real quality. They won't even come down and check to see for themselves."
Responding to the outcry, a council spokesperson expressed regret for the inconvenience caused. However, they pointed out that the issue had affected only a small number of people, most of whom had "complied with no issue". The spokesperson defended the council's decision, explaining: "The blanket ban of glass greenhouses was necessary across the two town council allotment sites as we have seen damage occur which poses a safety risk to tenants, their families, our officers and the ground itself due to contamination."
They further justified the ban by stating, "We unfortunately cannot guarantee that appropriate structures will be purchased for the plots, which is then impossible for us to police." Highlighting past issues, the spokesperson added, "We have also had repeat instances of plots being left in a poor state of repair and therefore cannot trust that any breakages would be appropriately cleared and responsibly recycled."
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