So much for The Good Life! Council bills green-fingered couple nearly £500 for growing vegetables in their OWN garden - claiming they need planning permission.

 Lee and Kirstie Lawes decided to transform part of the lawn into a vegetable patch as a project during lockdown

The pandemic project was a success and they handed out food grown in their new patch to the neighbours But a couple, from Deeping St James, Lincs, have been hit with £469 charge to fix a 'breach' of planning rules South Kesteven District Council say the area is classed as 'informal open space' and cannot be fenced off They have now ordered the couple to submit a planning application to change the use to a 'private garden'

A green-fingered couple who turned to self-sufficiency during lockdown have accused council bosses of losing the plot after they told them they would have to fork out almost £500 to keep growing vegetables in their own garden. Amateur growers Lee and Kirstie Lawes decided to transform part of their lawn into a vegetable patch as a lockdown hobby - one they could enjoy with their two-year-old granddaughter Ella. The pair, from Deeping St James, Lincs, were so successful with their growing that they even started handed out their produce among neighbours. But their well-meaning pandemic project, which has shades of Tom and Barbara Good in the hit BBC comedy series The Good Life, may now have to be uprooted.

That's because council chiefs say installing the vegetable patch has resulted in a 'change of use' of the land. Despite them owning the small piece of land, it has never previously been fenced off and has been open to members of the public. Dad-of-four Lee, 53, who runs his own fire and security business, says Land Registry records show the small patch of grass been part of the property since 1969.

But according to the South Kesteven District Council, the green area is classed in planning terms as 'informal open space'. The authority say by fencing the area off and growing vegetables they have officially changed its use - meaning they need to submit a 'change of use' planning application. Now the local council wants to charge the couple £469 for the planning permission, leaving the couple baffled. However, one expert told Mail Online the council are right in terms of planning regulations - but added that he thought the council should accept the application should the couple apply. Lee, who spent around £3,000 building the 9ft by 15ft vegetable plot, said: 'We moved into the house in December 2020, and on Christmas Day found a car parked in our garden. 'This happened a couple of times, and I also became fed up with having to pick up dog poo from the grass before I mowed it. 'We were having issues with dog mess and litter too, so it was an obvious thing to do as anyone could pretty much walk into our garden. 'So, in January last year, we decided to put in a new fence and use that part of the garden for raised vegetable beds.

'It was great - we ended up with so much produce, we were able to give some to neighbours and left some out so that people could help themselves.' However, around a year later, Lee said he received a letter from the council say they had to pay £469 for a 'change of use' of the land. He said: 'Somebody has complained to the council about the fence, incidentally this person doesn't even live in the area, even though it is on our land and several feet away from the property border. 'We first had an enforcement notice through the post, which was full on inaccuracies, claiming we had built the fence on public land. 'I sent them back Land Registry information that proved that wasn't the case, so they sent a revised enforcement notice through which we received yesterday. 'It points out that although the land is in our ownership, it states that we need to apply for planning permission for change of use to an open space in a private residential garden. 'So essentially, does that mean anybody who builds a vegetable plot in their back garden has to apply for planning permission?' Speaking about the authority's decision to pursue him, Lee said: 'I accept the council are following procedure, but it's the hypocrisy of it that I find frustrating.

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