Derry pensioner halts supermarket development

A pensioner's love of her garden has stopped a multi-million pound supermarket development in its tracks.

A pensioner's love of her garden has stopped a multi-million pound supermarket development in its tracks.

Ms Lena Hunt(78) turned down an offer of £250,000 sterling for part of her back garden, insisting it meant more to her than money.

Without the key bit of land developers are unable to proceed.

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I sit in it in the summer, I can go out and walk in it, I can see the birds and the bees and I'm quite happy
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Ms Lena Hunt (78) turned down an offer of £250,000 for part of her back garden from land developers

She has lived in the house at Catherine Street in Limavady, Co Derry, since the day she was born and is determined to see out her days in the house and enjoy her beloved garden - all of it.

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"It's part of my home, I don't want to go through a whole lot of hassle about the garden.

"I sit in it in the summer, I can go out and walk in it, I can see the birds and the bees and I'm quite happy," she said today.

She said she was first offered £40,000 by developers for the land and when she refused to sell the offer was jumped to the quarter of a million - still she said no.

"It's not for sale, not even for £1 million. The money doesn't matter, I'm not interested in the money," she said.

She said she was not wealthy but insisted: "I can do very nicely without the money, I'm very happy and content."

The development scheme was part of a plan by Limavady Borough Council to regenerate part of the town centre to try to stop shoppers heading elsewhere - particularly Derry - by attracting Sainsbury, Tesco or Safeway to the town.

The council produced a development brief which would have involved them selling off the town cattle market for development as a shopping complex.

They received one bid from a local property company which owned adjoining land but needed part of Ms Hunt's garden to complete the necessary land bank.

Mr Eamon McCotter, chief finance and administrative officer at Limavady Council, said Ms Hunt's land was "fundamental" to the development and without it the plan would have to be dropped.

"Councillors had been told vesting the land was not a feasible option", he said.

He added Ms Hunt could rest easy: "She can sit tight, she's okay."

Small shopkeepers in the town were said to be thrilled by the pensioner's stand, they had been worried a major shopping complex could have driven them out of business.

PA