Green-fingered locals living on a street named after Blue Peter gardener Percy Thrower have won a fight to stop developers from bulldozing their lawns.

On May 21, 2025, residents on Percy Thrower Avenue in Bonmere Heath, Shropshire, received a letter from Housing Plus Group giving them 28 days to clear their gardens "before taking action to remove the encroachment". "

The company claimed the residents' gardens had strayed beyond the legal boundary and onto land not belonging to them.

Resident Alex Titley, 45, said developers were demanding that she give up 2.5m (8.2ft) of her garden.

But, on November 5, 2025, residents received a letter through the post to say the threat had been dropped, explaining a "thorough investigation" had led to the U-turn."

Alex and the other residents are "relieved" that they can now enjoy their garden without fear of it being destroyed."

Alex, a CPA practitioner, said: "I had a mixed reaction to receiving the letter."

"I felt a huge amount of relief, it has been such a stressful and anxiety-provoking time."

"But I was also annoyed and vexed that there was no apology from them for the stress it had caused us."

"It has been a super stressful few months for everyone involved."

"I am over the moon that it has been resolved, it should have never happened in the first place - but at least there is relief now."

In May 2025, residents had received a letter giving them just 26 days to clear their gardens.

Alex, who has lived in her home for 20 years, said this would have meant that she would have lost two of her trees and her beloved shed.

She said: "My garden is my sanctuary. It's a peaceful place for me while I struggle to cope with my daughter's health problems. "

"The anxiety this has caused is unbelievable."



"To think these people think they can just wade in and demand a quarter of it when it is inside our registered boundary is absurd." "

The company claimed the residents' gardens have strayed beyond the legal boundary and onto land not belonging to them.

But residents say the developers are wrong and

lodged an appeal to temporarily stop the bulldozers.

Neighbour Jonathan Kessel-Fell, 54, said: "We have been looking after the boundary, which is on their deeds, for 20 years. "

"We're all in really busy jobs and our gardens are our sanctuary. "

"The fences were due to be taken down any time from Wednesday which is 28 days since the letters were sent. "

"We've since been told by the developer that this won't happen while the legal dispute is going on. "

"We're not against the houses being built, we just want a conversation with the construction company and the landowner." "

To residents relief, on November 5, 2025, they received a letter through the door to say that a "thorough investigation" had led to the U-turn."

Alex said: "When we first got the letter, we thought how on earth do we fight back."

"But, thank goodness we did and we have got this turned around."

"During the summer we weren't able to do our normal garden jobs as we were unsure what would happen."

"Our summer was on hold in terms of enjoying our garden."

In the letter sent to residents, Housing Plus Group said they wanted to "maintain positive relationships with the local community"."

"We will continue to ensure that any future communications on development matters are handled sensitively and clearly," it added."

Alex said: "The letter said it was important to maintain a positive relationship."

"I thought 'are you serious with the way you have treated us'."

"It is disgusting that these developers come along and intrude on peoples land."

"It is a small space, but it is ours and we worked very hard on it."