Man 'devastated' after council orders removal of rooftop garden at Devon watersports firm
Watch Rob Wood talk to ITV News' Richard Lawrence about his rooftop garden
A Devon businessman says he is "absolutely devastated" and will "fight tooth and nail" to keep his rooftop garden after he was ordered to remove it by the council.
Rob Wood runs Broadsands Beach Watersports Centre in Paignton. He started a garden on the site's roof earlier this year.
He said the feature has become so popular that people have started contributing their own items, turning it into a Mediterranean-style garden.
But Torbay Council now says the roof garden was made without prior permission and could pose potential risks.
"I'm devastated," Rob said. "I'm not going to lie, I'm absolutely devastated.
"When I told the lads they couldn't believe it.
"We poured our heart and soul into this just for us to be told to take it down.
"We hoped there'd be a sensible compromise and not just a blanket ban."
The area is not open to the public but Rob says it used to be hotspot for antisocial activity - until his renovations.
He has not just been planting flowers, but he's also been growing fruit and vegetables too.
The seating in the garden has been made up with pallets from South West Water which were used in the emergency distribution of water during the cryptosporidium outbreak earlier this year.
He said: "We just started planting a few flowers in March. We got some pallets and made them into planters and everything started growing.
"People from the local area started giving us bits and bobs like cuttings and things like that.
"We popped the seeds onto the roof as it's a nice little suntrap. Then we found a boat on Facebook Marketplace and added things I've collected over the last 17 years.
"It's become very much like a community thing, with the fact that people come and look at it and contribute bits and bobs to it."
Rob said he was visited by a member of Torbay Council on Monday 19 August and was told there had been a number of complaints.
He said: "A lady from the council came down and told me that the garden needed to go. She said it had had lots of complaints and they said they had had no emails in support.
"There was no negotiation. It was just 'the garden has to go'. They said it was under health and safety grounds, including edge protection.
"I said, in which case, I'll install some rope and some posts around it. Then they said it was the weight of the garden.
"I'm a civil engineer by trade and there's no issue with weight. I've used my experience to ensure that's not the case.
"Every single day, I am bombarded with compliments about it. People go round there everyday, there's always someone looking at it, always someone taking photos, people taking videos.
"A lady was live on FaceTime to her sister in Brazil, talking about how wonderful this Mediterranean roof garden was in Torbay.
"If they have an issue with it, why can't they come and say 'can we do this instead?' I'm just really disappointed by the 'get rid of it' attitude."
A spokesperson for the authority said: "We acknowledge the efforts of a tenant on our property, who has constructed a roof garden without prior permission.
"While we appreciate Mr Wood’s positive intentions, it is crucial to emphasise that any modifications to leased properties must comply with planning, structural safety, and health and safety regulations.
"It is never our intention to limit initiatives for things such as gardens, however, as a responsible authority, we must ensure that all additions to our properties are safe and compliant with structural safety and health and safety regulations.
"Allowing unapproved modifications which deviate from lease conditions could pose potential risks to Mr Wood, the area, and all users of that area.
"We hope to resolve this matter amicably and encourage Mr Wood to engage with us through the proper channels for any future initiatives."
Rob added: "I'm going to fight tooth and nail to make sure it doesn't go. It was a verbal order, rather than a prohibition notice or anything like that.
"I'm sure there's some middle ground that can be met that means the whole thing doesn't have to go."