A 71-year-old has accused the council of wanting her to "downsize into a coffin" so it can knock down her bungalow for access to development land. Sharon Gregory, who refuses to be moved, ordered officers from Bolsover District Council (BDC) to leave her home of ten years, in Orchard Close, Clowne, when they came round to tell her their demolition plans.
A member of Clowne Parish Council, she claims her garden is one of the busiest hedgehog highways in the area and she was visited by two BDC employees in February under the guise of concern for the protected species. Councillor Gregory said: “They sat down and one officer had got a letter with her and they were talking about the hedgehogs and she said ‘it’s not something that we get involved in, but arrangements could be made and they’re safe for now’."
Being a councillor with extensive knowledge of the area, she was quick to guess that the authority wanted to knock down her’s and the adjourning empty bungalow to allow access to the land behind, which has long since been earmarked for development. When she questioned them, the officers confirmed this was indeed the case, as reported by Derbyshire Live.
