Bexley grandma says she is a prisoner in her home over development

The application for the demolition of six unused garages and the development of the residential block on Filston Road was approved in March last year.

Sylvia Scotting, who lives in Hollyhill Road in Belvedere, said she felt there was a lack of space for a development of this scale in the area.

• READ MORE: Suspected Bromley robber pinned down by off-duty officer

The 73-year-old told the News Shopper: “They have taken away my peace, privacy, and leave the site in a terrible unsafe state.

“I feel like a prisoner in my own home.

“We don’t even want to go in the garden anymore, it is just awful.”

A similar application was rejected in 2018 with the refusal of permission document reading “the development, by reason of its juxtaposition with the boundary of the rear gardens of dwellings fronting Filston Road will result in development that is overbearing on the occupants of the adjacent properties.”

Sylvia claims that the builders from Allied Ventures Property Solutions Ltd are now working as close as two feet away from her garden.

Sylvia says that the building work has disrupted was used to be a very private garden

She lives with her husband and says that the pair have already spent £500 on a shelter to try and regain some privacy from the contractors.

She does not like having her two great-grandchildren, aged five and six, play in the garden anymore because of the disruption.

Sylvia says a lot of damage has already been done to her garden, including a tree that was knocked down after the workers hit it while trying to manoeuvre a digger in a small space for parking.

Sylvia says that she should be able to park her car here in the space behind her garden

Sylvia has also claimed a tree was knocked down over her fence after workers hit it while trying to manoeuvre a digger.

She explained: “I saw the digger knock the tree, because there is no room for them to move, and the tree came down, but I was on my way out to get my great-grandchildren so at the time I couldn’t say anything.”

“I spoke to one of the managers on-site and I said I saw the digger knock it down, and he said, ‘oh I am sorry it was an accident’.

“I then said, ‘well someone is going to have to pay for it’”.

Sylvia contacted the police and reported the incident as criminal damage on November 12, 2021.

An image of the neighbours fence that was allegedly removed and tree that was knocked down

The police visited her home, and Sylvia says that she was offered £50 compensation by the building contractors.

She rejected it because she felt that this “would not replace a fully grown tree that her late father had planted”.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police declined to comment due to the amount of time passed since the incident.

Sylvia claims that the workers piled dirt against her fence which she asked them to move as hers was starting to collapse in.

Sylvia says that dirt is piled against the fences by the builders

Sylvia said: “There is no room for them to put any earth from where they have been digging the foundations, so they just pile it wherever they want.

“There will also be no new parking, which is going to take up our parking and the workers are already continually restricting my entry to the back garden.”

She is worried that this become a bigger problem once the building is finished and the tenants move in.

Sylvia claims that next door’s fence was taken down without permission by the builders, leaving a three-foot ditch which she was concerned would be a danger to the small child that lived next door.

“We had to keep phoning up environmental health and saying they are leaving this unsafe,” she explained.

Sylvia and her partner were consulted about the build before work began but said that the plans were difficult to understand and she had to request more information.

She said: “We tried to prevent it before it was approved, but it still went through.”

Bexley London Borough Council and Allied Ventures Property Solutions Ltd were all approached for comment.

Sylvia expressed concerns about space and access to her property

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletters to get updates sent straight to your inbox.