- Dolly Burton has lived in the same council house in Bristol for the last 50 years
- Bristol City Council and developers approached the pensioner to ask for the land
- They offered the 97-year-old a ‘five-figure sum’ but she is refusing to sell to them
A 97-year-old woman has refused to give up just two yards of her front garden which is needed for a new development – despite being offered at least £100,000.
Dolly Burton was approached by her local authority and developers who are trying to build 49 new homes.
Her council home is owned by Bristol City Council, and Ms Burton has reportedly been offered a ‘five-figure sum’ for the land.
Dolly Burton (pictured) is refusing to give up the land outside the front of her council house in Bristol
The 97-year-old has lived in the home for 50 years and will not give the land (pictured) to developers
The two-yard strip of grass in her front garden is needed to widen the road in front of her house to create a public highway for the development.
Ms Burton, who has lived in the same house in Bristol for 50 years, told the BBC: ‘They can offer me £100,000 and I still wouldn’t budge.
‘The way they wanted it, they’d take most of the garden and it would be awful if I had no front garden.’
Councillor Paul Smith, cabinet member for housing, said she was ‘completely within her rights to refuse’ the offer.
The house is owned by Bristol City Council and she is said to have been offered a ‘five-figure sum’ for the land
Housing developers need the small bit of land to widen the road to create a public highway
Mr Smith said: ‘She is a council tenant, it is council-owned land, but the rules are such that the council can’t take away part of somebody’s tenancy without their agreement.
‘If we can’t use that strip of garden then we’ll have to work with the existing access.’