I built a tiny shed in my parking space & was ordered to tear it down…I’m getting revenge & have a last-resort tactic
A WOMAN has been ordered to tear down her tiny shed that was put up in her parking space – but she’s now getting her revenge.
Dot Slater, 83, has vowed she won’t give up “without a fight” and is ready to stage a “sit-in” protest if it comes to it.
The retired nurse built the shed on the parking space outside her retirement flat, in Colwyn Bay, Wales, where she has lived for nine years.
Dot, a grandma-of-three, has previously claimed a member of staff running the site told her it would be fine.
However, residents have complained and the grandma-of-three is now battling the owners of the block, Emeritus Homes Ltd, over the shed which measures 8x6ft and houses her mobility scooter.
Dot, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, says a senior member of staff gave her a verbal agreement before she put the shed up as she needs to protect her scooter from any bad weather.
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She said: “I can't see what I've done wrong. I had permission to put the shed up.
“I won't go down without a fight and if they come to take it down I will sit in it.”
A letter from Emeritus Homes told Dot that she didn’t have permission to put up the shed but she can have a replacement structure if the plans are officially submitted and approved.
Dot though thinks the metal structure they want to put up is “ugly” and rather like an electricity junction box.
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The former nurse said: “I thought my shed would be a tidy solution.
“Before that, the only way I could store my scooter in winter was putting a plastic bike sheet over it.
“My scooter is important to me because it means I can go out to the town centre instead of paying for a taxi.”
She added that Emeritus Homes have told her, the currently plastic shed is a fire risk due to the battery in her scooter.
Dot though has responded by saying she disconnects the battery when she parks it and the shed is too far away from the flats to pose any danger.
She also said that she wasn’t aware of any complaints personally and added that some people had told her the shed “looks nice and a bit like a summer house”.
Dot said: “I can't be that unpopular because they threw me a surprise birthday party the other day to cheer me up.”
The pensioner also said she had not been informed about how much the new shed would cost but added she hoped some of the cost would be recouped when she sold her £800 plastic shed.
David Arthan, the property services director at Emeritus Homes, visited her last week to reassure her that the situation can be resolved, although she seem unsure of what will happen.
The Sun Online has contacted Emeritus Homes for comment.
Last month, a kind dad turned his rotten old shed at the bottom of the garden into a tiny home for his daughter.
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In July this year, a mum was so desperate for her son not to move out of the family home she built him a plush shed in the garden to live in.
Earlier this year, a family was ordered to tear down their £20,000 shed after claiming they received one letter of complaint - despite having the backing of their neighbours.
