Woman told to remove 'safety hazard' flower pots

A woman with blonde hair and a full fringe tied back is wearing a bright pink vest and blue and pink shorts. She is smiling at the camera and standing next to a black and silver front door. Next to the front door are several purple flowers and greenery that she has planted.Submitted

Judith Seeley planted rosemary, petunias and climbing roses outside the front of her house two years ago

Eleanor Maslin
BBC News

A woman says she has been told by the council to remove flower pots that have been outside of her house for two years.

Judith Seeley, 58, who lives in Patrington, East Yorkshire, received an email from East Riding of Yorkshire Council on 2 September requesting that they be removed due to obstruction concerns.

The 58-year-old told the council that in the time she had had the planters outside her front, they had "caused no access problems" and "received much admiration".

The council said the planters were found to take up "a third of the footpath" and caused a "safety hazard".

In the letter to Ms Seeley, a street scene enforcement officer said the council had received a complaint about the planters and gave her seven days to remove them.

A woman with blonde hair and a full fringe tied back is wearing a bright pink vest and blue and pink shorts. She is smiling at the camera and standing next to a black and silver front door. Next to the front door are several purple flowers and greenery that she has planted. You can see the pathway in front of her and a beige-coloured dog is sat next to her, looking up at her.Submitted

The council has told Judith Seeley her planters are a "safety hazard"

Ms Seeley said her mother, who uses a mobility scooter, did not have any issues getting along her pathway and into her house.

"Everyone that passes admires or comments on them and I have never had any issues or told they're causing a problem," she added.

On Wednesday, Ms Seeley said she still had the flower pots outside, but planned to remove them.

She said: "It's frustrating when you try to enhance the village.

"You've got to abide by the rules but it is a shame, it just takes one person to complain."

The front of a beige house with a black front door at the side of a road. You can see two tall planters with flowers on each side of the front door, a shorter but longer one underneath a window and more greenery and flowers surrounding them. There is a footpath in front of them.Judith Seeley

Judith Seeley says she has "never had any issues" with the planters

A spokesperson for the authority said: "This house is on the edge of a junction on to Eastgate in Patrington, and because of the amount of footpath these planters take up, they may force people out into the road."

They added that the planters caused a "safety hazard to people using the path, including children on bikes, people with wheelchairs, pushchairs and people with limited vision".

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