'It's health and safety gone mad' say the team behind community garden which council wants removed

The group behind it say it promotes growing local food and recycling, and the roof used to attract anti-social behaviour

The community garden has been created at broadsands
Author: Andrew KayPublished 21st Aug 2024
Last updated 21st Aug 2024

The group who've created a community garden in Torbay say the council's going too far with health and safety rules.

It's based on the roof of the watersports centre in Broadsands, where some of the more than 1-million plastic bottles given out during the cryptosporidium crisis are now being used to grow fruit and vegetables in.

Items collected on the beach, or donated from the pallets used by the recent makeshift bottled water station have also been turned into furniture - with local residents donating items or seeds or their time to help develop the garden.

Recently broadsands car park was taken over by a makeshift bottled water station as 17-thousand properties were told to boil their water after the cryptosporidium outbreak.

Rob wood, who owns the watersports centre, says it meant fewer customers could get to him - and in fact very few people wanted to be in the water anyway.

The makeshift bottled water collection station created by South West Water in May

He added: "It kept me and the lads here sane really during the cryptosporidium and it's evidence really of how bad our season's been with how much time I've had to do the garden."

Rob believes the roof is strong enough to hold plants, vegetables and a few benches, which he says was a magnet for anti-social behaviour until the garden was created.

A Torbay Council spokesperson said:

"We acknowledge the efforts of a tenant on our property, who has constructed a roof garden without prior permission. While we appreciate Mr. Wood’s positive intentions, it is crucial to emphasise that any modifications to leased properties must comply with planning, structural safety, and health and safety regulations.

"It is never our intention to limit initiatives for things such as gardens, however, as a responsible authority, we must ensure that all additions to our properties are safe and compliant with structural safety and health and safety regulations.

"Allowing unapproved modifications which deviate from lease conditions could pose potential risks to Mr. Wood, the area, and all users of that area.

"We hope to resolve this matter amicably and encourage Mr. Wood to engage with us through the proper channels for any future initiatives."

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