Cheltenham man's fight to save his home and 'Fiesta Land' from bulldozer
Watch Andrew Smith talk to ITV News' Robert Murphy about protecting his home from being bought by the council
A man from Cheltenham says he has not slept for weeks due to plans to demolish his home to make way for a dual carriageway and thousands of new properties.
Andrew Smith has lived on the Tewkesbury Road in Uckington for 22 years with his home known locally as 'Fiesta Land' because he uses it to repair and sell Ford cars.
Gloucestershire County Council wants to buy Mr Smith's land to make way for the 4,000-home 'Elms Park' development near junction 10 of the M5.
Mr Smith says the authority has offered him £850,000 for his three-bed semi-detached home and the land it sits on. He says this is not enough money to enable him to move to a similar property in the area.
He said: "I can't find it [a similar property for that price]. I've found somewhere that I can do a compromise on, but they're saying 'six months - out'."
He says this would mean he'd also lose money on his cars, as he'd have to resort to selling them at auction.
“I’m not against progress but they need to make me a sensible offer," Mr Smith said.
The 63-year-old told ITV News the row means he has not slept properly for weeks.
He said: "In the last month it's actually put me to my knees I'll be quite open and honest. I'm under the doctor - I can't sleep.
"Literally I haven't slept properly for a good five weeks.
"At one stage I was under the crisis team, I was put under the crisis team by my local GP.
"I'm past that stage now. But this is not going to be the end. If it means the High Court, I'll go to the High Court."
Mr Smith says he also wants to build an annexe for his 88-year-old mother move in with him. He claims he was told he would never get permission due to the upcoming redevelopment.
He said: "One of the last things my father said to me was look after your mother.
"It breaks my heart and I’ve broken down several times."
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire County Council said: “We are currently negotiating with landowners over the purchase of their property where required to facilitate delivery of the M5 Junction 10 scheme.
“In this case the land is required to enable the associated widening of the A4019 Tewkesbury Road.
“[We have] presented an offer to the property owner that accounts for both the valuation of the property in accordance with relevant standards and guidance and also considers relevant compensation which acknowledges the landowner’s situation.
"These negotiations are confidential, and we cannot comment further on these.
"As well as widening of the A4019 Tewkesbury Road the scheme proposals will see significant improvements to M5 Junction 10 and the creation of a new road linking Junction 10 to West Cheltenham.
"The scheme proposals are necessary to unlock proposed and future housing and employment growth in West and North West Cheltenham."