Man, 65, who built a DIY road barricade outside his house to stop parents parking there on the school run but was forced to remove it, says he hopes to install a new one – with garden GNOMES
- Derek Woodacre’s homemade barrier was removed by Wigan Council last month
- The 65-year-old said parents using his road for drop-off was causing damage
- The avid gnome-maker plans to decorate a reconstructed barrier with statues
- But neighbours have complained that his antics have led to ‘sleepless nights’
A man who had his homemade parking barricade removed by the council last month said he plans to install a new one decorated with hand-crafted garden gnomes.
Derek Woodacre, 65, has been battling with parents at St. John’s Primary School in Mosley Common for years over them parking on his road for school drop-off.
He said the damage caused by parents and other motorists driving down the road would cost residents ‘thousands’ to repair as the road is unadopted, meaning it is not maintained by the Highways Authority.
Mr Woodacre therefore took it upon himself to construct an elaborate blockade from planters and other objects to stop parents parking on the street.
But after receiving complaints for more than two years that the barriers were blocking emergency vehicles and bin lorries from accessing Commonside Road, Wigan Council finally removed the structure on July 19.
The 65-year-old said he now has people from across Greater Manchester and further afield visiting him to talk about the row.
Derek Woodacre, 65, said he wants to rebuild his barricade and decorate it with gnomes, which he makes himself
He constructed a homemade barricade on Commonside Road to stop parents parking for school drop-off but this was removed by Wigan Council last month
‘People drive past Manchester and are coming to see me and burst out laughing,’ he said.
‘They are in tears hearing about what I have planned for the future. It has gone mad in the area.’
Mr Woodacre, an avid gnome-maker, hopes that he will be able to reconstruct the blockade and decorate it with the handmade statues.
He said he also plans to make the pothole into ‘Lake Gnomo’, in homage to one of his favourite locations in the world, Lake Como in Italy. It will be an extension of what he calls ‘Gnome Man’s Land’ in his front gardens.
Neighbours will be hoping that Mr Woodacre does not achieve his goal of reconstructing the dismantled structure, after they complained that his antics had led to ‘sleepless nights’.
They called him ‘antagonising’ and ‘stressful’ but Mr Woodacre believes these neighbours against him are only few in number, and claims he ‘just does not care anymore’ about their opinions.
Ruby Howard, who has lived on Commonside Road all her life, told the Manchester Evening News that Mr Woodacre’s construction ‘looked awful’ and had created arguments with parents.
Mr Woodacre had been locked in a battle with parents at St. John’s Primary School in Mosley Common for years. He said their parking on his road has caused damage that costs ‘thousands’ to repair
The 65-year-old said he ‘does not care’ about the opinions of his neighbours, who have branded him ‘antagonising’ and ‘stressful’
She said: ‘Once he was told to remove the plate he started to dig the pothole even more. It has been stressful, people on the street have sleepless nights.
‘At first he was alright and wanted to help with the road, I think he got a bit too passionate. He sacked everyone off and wanted to do his own thing.’
Another neighbour said Mr Woodacre had even put gas canisters in the road to stop parents wanting to drive down it to drop off their children.
‘He wants the attention. He made the hole bigger. He is known in the area. He said he is going to antagonise the whole street,’ the neighbour said.
‘It’s draining. I’ve never known anything quite like it.’
MailOnline has contacted Wigan Council for comment. The director for environment Paul Barton said in a previous statement: ‘Following this issue being reported, we have worked with the resident to resolve the situation. The structures were removed, with the support of the resident, on July 19.
‘We are grateful to our residents for reporting issues to us and we encourage this. Residents can report issues by visiting: wigan.gov.uk/ReportIt.’