Man splashes out $34k for security to protect tiny wall from being bulldozed

A tiny brick wall has sparked a dispute so intense its owner, Roger White, is now splashing out thousands of dollars on security to protect it.

The 59-year-old from Gloucester in England has spent almost £18,000 ($34,150) on 24-hour security guards to stop developers from tearing down the last thing his late father left him.

White has been paying £150 ($284) a day since February for security to keep watch over the two-brick-high “dwarf wall”, which sits directly beside a new 70-home development in the suburb of Hempsted.

The standoff centres on whether the strip of land beneath it belongs to White or to developer Lioncourt Homes.

While it looks like an unusual inheritance, White’s late father, Ernie, was a local estate agent who purposefully purchased a number of strategic “ransom strips” across the region as long-term investments. These small bits of land are often held because future developers eventually need to buy them out to unlock access to full blocks of land.

Lioncourt says the wall needs to come down so it can create an emergency vehicle access route for the housing estate, as required under its planning approval, but White insists the land is his.

According to The Sun, the dispute has dragged on for more than a year, with White saying it has “dominated” his life.

“He left me the wall and told me to keep an eye on it and that it would be worth something one day,” White told the outlet.

“That’s why I felt so strongly and fought so hard.”

White says he has Land Registry documents dating back to 1971 proving ownership, while Lioncourt claims it has paperwork from 1964 showing the wall falls within its land.

The patch was reportedly valued at £10,000 ($18,972) in 2017, which means White may have spent more protecting the wall than he would have gotten for selling it.

After months of tension, White now says talks with the developer have finally begun, though he has one request.

“If we do come to an agreement and dismantle the wall, I’ll rebuild it at my house in memory of my dad,” he said.

“I don’t want to just see the wall go to the tip.”

The local council has thrown its support behind the developers. A spokesperson for Gloucestershire County Council told The Sun that they consider Lioncourt’s land to directly adjoin the public road.

”Legal boundaries have no physical width… and the highway status takes precedence over whoever owns the ground beneath it,” the council said. ”Therefore, the council considers that the works to create the emergency vehicle access as required by planning can be lawfully implemented.”

A spokesperson for Lioncourt Homes told the outlet: “Works required to implement our planning permission is in land wholly owned by Lioncourt Homes or is in adopted highway land, no third-party land is required.