Father is embroiled in furious land row with his neighbours who ‘built garden office pod on lawn of his £600,000 home’
A furious father is locked in a turf war with neighbours he accuses of building a garden office pod on the lawn of his £600,000 newbuild home.
Justin and Julia Leech moved into their new house before noticing the garden was 1.8m shorter than expected.
Builders were said to have erected a fence at the wrong angle – producing a dog-leg in the couple’s property boundary line.
The mix-up meant about 17.7sqm of their land was mistakenly added to the garden backing onto them.
Neighbours then built a garden office pod on the extra land shortly after Mr and Mrs Leech moved in in November 2023.
The couple complained to Shropshire Homes – who built the estate in Orleton, Herefordshire – but the issue remains unresolved almost three years later.
In a bid to end the deadlock, the couple have vowed to rip down the fence to force the case to go to court.
Mr Leech, 51, said: ‘We thought we were moving into our dream home but it’s turned into our worst nightmare.
‘There was clearly a mistake made when the fence was put up.
Justin and Julia Leech say neighbours built a garden office pod on the extra land shortly after the couple moved into their new property in November 2023
The garden office pod is circled above the disputed ground and the ‘dog-leg’ fence below
Justin Leech (pictured) is locked in a turf war with neighbours he accuses of building a garden office pod on the lawn of his £600,000 newbuild home
‘You can clearly see where our boundary line should be on the plans. The neighbours clearly know they have land which is rightfully ours.
‘We are so desperate we are seriously considering removing the fence so we get our day in court. We want a judge to decide.’
The couple, who have two children aged four and eight, say they have tried to raise the issue with their neighbours Craig and Nichola Fleetwood but to no avail.
Mr Leech, who works as a civil servant, said: ‘We have tried to talk to them about it over the years but they don’t want to know.
‘It is blindingly obvious that the fence was installed in the wrong place.
‘The boundary line was measured from the wrong building. It was a simple mistake but it needs correcting.
‘The fence even takes a right angle so it’s not straight. None of the other fences do this.
‘All our other neighbours agree that it’s our land. It’s madness.’
The couple also fear they are in a race against time to reclaim the land which could default to their neighbours after ten years.
Mr Leech, 51, said: ‘We thought we were moving into our dream home but it’s turned into our worst nightmare’
The couple, who have two children aged four and eight, say they have tried to raise the issue with their neighbours in Orleton, Herefordshire, but to no avail
Mrs Leech, who runs her own small business, said: ‘The neighbours are just happy to wait because they know the land will automatically be there after ten years is up.
‘From every window at the back of the house I can see the fence and it’s a constant reminder that we have been denied the land which is rightfully ours.
‘Seeing the office pod on land which is actually ours just adds insult to injury.’
Shropshire Homes admitted the fence was put in the wrong place but say they knocked £10,000 off the final asking price of the house.
In an email to Mr and Mrs Leech, they also pledged to provide evidence to the Land Registry confirming the original boundary line.
Managing director Richard Shackleton said: ‘We have satisfied our legal obligations which should really be an end of the issue.
‘Mr Leech and his wife do not have any legal right over the land in dispute and whilst it remains in dispute we will not transfer the land to either party.
‘They also have a legal obligation to maintain the current fence and therefore we do not condone any attempt to remove it.’
