THE DISPUTE between two neighbours in Corringham over the placing of a trampoline in a shared garden gained national coverage on Friday afternoon (Feb 1st).
The Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2 spoke to YourThurrock editor, Michael Casey about the whole affair that has seen one of the tenants, Paul Gibson, warned by the council that he may be in breach of his tenancy agreement.
The trampoline sits at the end of the garden in Norton Close and has been there since the summer.
It slightly intrudes on the path that leads to the exit, leaving a three foot gap whilst the disability scooter that Mrs Foot leaves by is two foot wide.
Speaking to YT yesterday, father-of-two, Mr Gibson gave his version of events.
“The garden wasn’t looking very nice so I tidied bits up and then put the trampoline in for the children.”
“I was made aware of a complaint by a neighbour. An estates officer came round to assess it.”
Asked if this was the first time Mr Gibson and his neighbour, Mrs Foot, had been involved in a dispute, Mr Gibson said: “No, over the last few years there have been a number of disputes and allegations.”
But Mr Gibson did make a pledge to YT. “Once I am feeling better, I will remove the trampoline from where it is.”
YT also spoke to Gloria Foot who confirmed that she had been complaining to the council since the summer.
A spokersperson from Thurrock Council said “The Council did not grant permission to the tenant for the installation of the trampoline.
“We have responded to complaints from a vulnerable resident whose mobility has been severely restricted by the location of the trampoline in the communal garden.
“We have commenced legal proceedings as a final resort, following warning letters together with a home visit from our estate officers. These warnings gave the tenant adequate time to clear the trampoline from the communal garden which the tenant did not comply with.
“This is clearly a breach of the tenancy agreement which states that all communal spaces must be free from any obstruction.
“There are currently no immediate notices of eviction and this will not happen if the tenant complies with the terms of the tenancy agreement.
For those of you who missed yesterday’s JV show, you can catch it here:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01q8q3k/Jeremy_Vine_Sperm_donation_and_elephants/
Mike’s interview starts at around 1 hour and 48 minutes.
I have just listened to the interview with Michael Casey from Your Thurrock and it is obvious there is bad feeling between the two neighbours. The trampoline is 8 foot and takes alot of the space. If you look carefully at the picture above you can see the residents cannot use the rotary line to hang out their washing and there is also a slide as well as other toys. So Mr Casey and his family are using all the space there which is very unfair as a communal garden is meant to be shared by all of the people living there.
Sorry Mr Gibson, not Mr Casey !!