June 25, 1976

A LOCAL allotment association is angered over Redditch Council's refusal for its plan for a communal shed.

Webheath Allotments Association says it has become frustrated by "bureaucracy gone mad".

But the council said the plans put forward for a shed by the association were a "rough job."

Chairman of the association, Mr Peter Batty, said: "The council's idea and our idea of what a shed should look like are completely different. They want to make it look like a shanty town, which is what will happen if the council gets its way."

The clash arose after the association said it wanted to build the communal shed with corrugated sheet steel, covered on the outside by green plastic paint.

The council told the association the planning committee would prefer a timber or brick building to keep in line with current regulations.

It also suggested to the allotment holders that if the hut had to be built out of steel it should be painted brown.

Ultimately the council planning committee refused the application even though the tenants agreed to altering the colour of the shed and carrying out other small changes requested by council officers.