Furious locals ordered to pay £10k for fence to stop them from being 'good neighbours'

Boat owners had been leaving their shopping at metal railings on the opposite side of the pontoon where their boats are moored in order to avoid a 20 minute walk.

Then, they would walk around the apartments to access Diglis Marina and have their bags passed over the railings by kind-hearted Albion Mill residents.

However, apartment managers now plan to erect a 2m (6.5ft) high 35m (114ft) long fence to block off the pontoon. It comes after two people complained about boat owners trespassing.

The announcement has been left with backlash from boat owners and residents. Boat owner Dave Price, 56, said: "It's absolutely ridiculous.

"It's all stemming from two people passing bags of shopping over twice a week. If I order some groceries or a Just Eat delivery they hand it over the fence. They're probably two or three people who have moaned about it from 300-400 residents.

"There's one woman who complained and she was shouting obscenities at us, she was calling us 'water gypsies'."

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Residents of the marina also expressed their concern. Sound engineer Tony Wass, 67, who has lived on the marina full-time with his partner Stuart since December 2022, said a new fence would be dangerous in the event of an emergency.

He said: "At the moment, the fence means that if anyone on the boats had an emergency an ambulance or fire engine could get pretty close. If this fence goes up we'd be stuffed.

"If there was a fire here we'd be trapped here. The fire officer said to jump into the canal but I'm not going to do that at 67 and in freezing cold water in winter.

"The shopping thing is an inconvenience. If we have to bring our shopping on the 1km route, it's ridiculous. It's a 15-minute walk. The new route goes over very wide locks which are quite dangerous and you can fall into them in winter."

Jon Bodenham, 50, who lives in Albion Mill, said: "It is a significant cost, around £9,000 to £10,000, which is happening without any consultation with residents.

"I am just absolutely livid that a few complaints can actually enact something like this without consulting a wider body of residents."

A spokesperson from First Port, the management company behind the converted apartment building said: "Climbing over the fence as an access point to and from the canal presents a significant safety concern and is likely to cause extensive damage.

"Previously, there has been damage around the fence which has had to be rectified at a cost to the residents of Albion Mill."