I Know The Problem Well,

where I still have my apartment in Beckenham,

visitors to the area would park two wheels of their cars on the grass verge, making it into a compacted mass in summer and a sea of mud when it was wet, which is exactly the problem Dr Susannah Beattie was experiencing outside her home in Wulfstan Way, Queen Edith’s, Cambridgeshire, so being public spirited at her own expense in time and money she planted a series of small shrubs to stop motorists illegally parking on the verge,


enter Cambridgeshire County Council who has informed her she is breaking the law, many neighbours said how nice the flowers looked, and it stopped the problem of verge parking, but within a fortnight the council sent a letter saying Dr Beattie had breached the 1980 Highways Act, the council wanted their pound of flesh, it appears it is permissible to put shrubs on verges if you pay the council, a fee of £84 for a ‘licence to cultivate’


Dr Beattie has won support from Cllr Geoff Heathcock, who represents the area and said no-one who tried to improve their neighbourhood should be treated like a criminal, He said: 'this action is both unnecessary and petty compared to the damage that is done all year round by parking on verges, and considerably less is done about that', but of course we are dealing with a council that is so rich it can afford to send out beautifying the neighbourhood inspectors, it is a pity that common sense from the council could not rectify this issue of people that pay council officials wages can not improve their neighbourhood,


how did we solve the problem of visitors parking on the verges where my apartment is? the tenants association put rocks on the verge and painted them white, all went well till some one stole the rocks for I guess their rockery, really!