News

Park South shipping container removed from garden of 'nightmare neighbour'

 NEIGHBOURS in Park South who have complained for almost two years about an unsightly shipping container on their housing estate were surprised and delighted to see it suddenly be removed.

Unwelcome additions to Lillie Goddard’s front garden which faced the public green on Purley Avenue have outraged the people living nearby.

They argued that the caravan, added in July 2019, and shipping container, added that December, broke planning laws and, along with the mess around the structures, created an eyesore.
 Suddenly, one morning earlier this month, they saw a small crane throw a smaller box-shaped room off the top of the container, sending its contents flying everywhere, and then lift the container itself onto a removal lorry before driving away.

The first-floor extension to the container and pieces of what was once stored inside it, remains on the green, though neighbours are just glad to see the back of the container.

Jo Wilson brought the issue to the media’s attention and has spearheaded efforts to try to sort out the mess.

She was not home when the removal company arrived but recalled her phone pinging with notifications and calls from neighbours who wanted to alert her to this major development in her campaign.

She said: “It’s a very positive thing and I’m hoping this is the first step in getting this eyesore removed. We have been fighting this for so long but no one expected it to happen, everyone was shocked but so happy.

“Some people were stood at the end of the street and watching as it happened, and cars that drove past beeped their horns and the drivers gave a thumbs-up.