RESIDENTS are hoping a government inspector will block moves to force them to rip up their garden fences and vegetable plots.

Some 16 neighbours in Edge View Road and Priory Close, Congleton, extended their back gardens after buying land from a farmer.

Some laid new lawns and dug vegetable plots on their newly-acquired land, in each case an area of eight square metres.

Only one of the residents sought retrospective planning approval for the extensions, which was refused because it represented development of Green Belt land.

All 16 were subsequently served with enforcement notices by Congleton Borough Council requiring them to reinstate the land to its original condition.

The final decision on the row now rests with a government inspector after the residents appealed against the notices to the D of E.

Borough enforcement officer Justin Burnett said the land bought by the residents created substantial extensions to their gardens.

"In most cases they laid the land with lawns, but some used it for vegetable gardens,'' he said.

"It is inappropriate development in the Green Belt, and if we did not agree to take enforcement action it would have set a precedent which would have caused problems elsewhere.''

No-one from the residents was available for comment.

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