Furious villagers slam ‘bodge job’ after wooden fence replaces ‘historic’ stone wall

Local councillor says move is a ‘false economy’ because fence will need replacing in a few years

'These beautiful walls define our villages,' local says as she slams 'nasty bodge job' (SWNS)

Residents of a Cotswolds village are up in arms after the council replaced part of a historic stone wall with a £250 wooden fence described as a “bodge job”.

Locals in Selsey, Gloucestershire, are furious at council chiefs’ decision to knock down the wall, with one saying it is “one rule for the county council and another for residents.”

And a councillor for the area said the move was a “false economy” because the fence would need replacing in a few years’ time while stone walls can last for decades.

Stroud district councillor Steve Hynd and resident Marisa Godfrey have written to the authority to express the villagers’ concerns.

They say the council had promised to rebuild the 150m wall which needed repair. But they say Gloucestershire Highways,  without consultation, proceeded to remove the wall altogether.

They then erected a fence on top of a small wall instead - a job costing a reported £200,000 and taking nearly 12 weeks.

Mr Stroud, a councillor for the Green Party, said: “As well as the aesthetic change, I worry that replacing a traditional dry stone wall with a wooden fence is just a false economy.

Part of the dry stone wall on New Road in Selsley, Stroud, collapsed in 2021 (Cllr Steve Hynd / SWNS)

“Cotswold stone walls, when erected by skilled local craftspeople, can last for decades with occasional straightforward maintenance.

“This wooden fence will need replacing in a few years’ time.

‘’The community should have been given an option to fundraise the additional money to get the same wall replaced.”

He added: "We weren’t even given those options as a possibility, people probably would have rallied together and actually done something.

Road closed during part of Summer 2023 while work was undertaken to (Cllr Steve Hynd / SWNS)

"My main issue is the lack of communication with the local community, who I know are furious about this.

"We weren’t told the wall would not be restored to its former standing.

"I think something that has such tangible aesthetic change to a historic Cotswold village kind of should be consulted on by the community."

Local Marisa Godfrey said: “A lot of people in the village are angry and disappointed about this.

Wall has been replaced with ‘bodge job’ fence (Cllr Steve Hynd / SWNS)

‘’It feels to them like there is one rule for the county council and another for residents.

‘’As a local farmer said to us, he would never get away with removing a historic dry stone wall on his land.

‘’Dry stone walls are an intrinsic feature of the Cotswold landscape - an ancient craft that has been passed down through generations - and rural residents are rightly proud of the artisanship and heritage that goes into creating them.

"These beautiful walls define our villages and farms.

‘It feels to them like there is one rule for the county council and another for residents’ (Cllr Steve Hynd / SWNS)

‘’They take skill to build but we have those skills right here in the Cotswolds and the job should have been done by a skilled local craftsperson.

"Instead of which, we have this nasty bodge job.”

A Gloucestershire County Council spokesperson said: “This wall required urgent repairs costing more than £200,000, which have now been completed.

"The lower part of the wall retained the road, footway and utility services from collapsing into the fields – so needed replacement.

"To build the wall to its former height alongside the footway would have doubled the project cost and duration.

“The livestock-proof wooden post and rail fence is used extensively in rural settings and was designed to be as considerate as possible to the local area while ensuring we use public funds responsibly.

“We accept that our communication could have been clearer on the details of the plan for this project and we would like to apologise for this and any inconvenience caused during the works.”