An Oxford man has been left furious after being quoted £60,000 to repair his collapsed garden wall.
Anthony Bailey, of Coppock Close in Headington Quarry, discovered earlier this year that his back garden wall had crumbled.
The property backs onto the Ramsay Road allotments and the pensioner believes that these are to blame for the collapse.
“The allotments have come right up to my 16-foot wall and pushed it down,” said Mr Bailey.
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“I have been quoted £60,000 to fix this time around."
The 83-year-old called Oxford City Council around to the property to inspect the issue but was left dissatisfied with the result.
“The council came round to my house and they’re not interested,” said Mr Bailey.
“I do not want it rebuilt, all I have asked for them is to pull the earth back into the allotments so that it won't fall down.
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“They have done it for other neighbours but for some reason, they won’t do it for me.
“I’m trying to keep calm as I get on with my neighbours and good luck to them.
“I am starting to lose my temper as no one will listen whether that be the council or the insurers.”
This is not the first time that the wall has been damaged as a similar problem occurred at the property in February 2017.
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“It has happened before and the council got a quote from a builder and this was nearly £40,00 to put it right,” revealed Mr Bailey.
“I said I could not afford it and I got a builder in myself to fix it and I had to pay £4,000.
“The new problem is a separate part of the wall from the originally affected section.
“If the council gave me a couple of thousand I could hire a couple of skips and the labour and do it myself.”
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After hearing about Mr Bailey’s struggles, the Oxford Mail approached Oxford City Council for more information on the issue.
The authority has confirmed there is a real concern over the safety of the wall but insists the incident has not been caused by the allotments.
An Oxford City Council spokesperson said: "Mr Bailey originally contacted the council about this issue in 2017 and our surveyors attended his property again last month.
“The wall is in a poor state of repair and we are concerned about its safety and stability.
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“However, our surveys show this is not due to earth from the allotments.
“We have offered to help lower the wall to a structurally safe level and Mr Bailey is responsible for carrying out and paying for repairs."
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