A couple has revealed their impressive council house garden after forking out £25,000 to transform it, including an aviary, spa, outdoor kitchen and gym.
When Wendy Ann Heathcote broke up with her husband of 16 years, she vowed to never purchase a property again – and certainly not with somebody else.
And so, she applied to go on the housing list before landing her three-bedroom detached council home, which she now shares with her new beau, Jimbo, aged 60.
READ MORE: We ripped up the carpets expecting beautiful floors – what we found left us GAGGING
- Advertisement -
But the star of the show isn’t their abode – it’s the garden – which the couple has spent a whopping £25,000 transforming into a paradise.
It includes an aviary, a rabbit hutch, tortoise enclosure, chicken coop, veg and fruit patch, gymnasium, two fish ponds, outdoor kitchen, games room and spa; complete with hot tub, gym and sauna tent.
Despite the property still belonging to the council, Wendy – who pays £692 rent per month – doesn’t care about the costly investment, as she plans to stay there until the end.
“It’s our home till the day we die,” the 56-year-old, from Cambridgeshire, told What’s The Jam.
“We’re not here to upset anyone; we just want a happy and comfortable life.
- Advertisement -
“Our neighbours are so kind and helpful, so we give them eggs from our chickens.
“They pass over vegetables for the animals.
“And why shouldn’t I take pride in my home and garden?
- Advertisement -
“I have always made a beautiful home for my children to grow up in; now I get to do the same for my grandkids.
“I understand a lot of people aren’t lucky enough to have a garden.
“But I started my life in a mobile caravan – and so I deserve to create my dream now I can.”
When moving in 13 years ago, there wasn’t actually any garden at all.
She said: “It didn’t have fences; just a single shed and a coal bunker, as well as an outside toilet.
“The garden was waist-high and soil with no lawn.
“We both have a love of gardening, so we started right away with putting fencing up and placing paths, before gravelling the whole space.
“We never had a dream garden in our heads, but we wanted to adapt it to our animals and our family.
“I’m registered disabled, so it had to be low maintenance, too.
“And when my two kids left home, I got empty nest syndrome.
“So I filled that hole with animals and made the garden a place everyone wants to be.”
The fencing set them back £1,000 and the sheds another £1,500.
Gravel and paving slabs totalled £800, with the canopy, two fish ponds, pergola and spa area costing £12,850.
A further £3,000 was spent on shed bases, £1,000 on the aviary – with another £650 for the birds – and £150 for the chickens and coop.
As new fencing was needed, they forked out £3,500 to replace it, and £500 was paid for the tortoise’s enclosure.
Bills-wise, it costs them a whopping £350-per-month for electricity.
Wendy and Jim have been able to afford their impressive outdoor space due to their pensions, along with £2,500 per month in benefits.
Since Wendy suffers from complex regional pain syndrome and is therefore registered disabled, the council is unable to move her on.
If she wins the lottery, however, her dream is to buy a small piece of land and live in a log cabin off-grid.
Until that happens, though, she’s staying put.
Their next project is building a larger tortoise enclosure and a ‘better’ spa, as well as expanding their veg patch.
Funnily enough, their garden isn’t actually the largest in their neighbourhood; it’s the smallest on the block.
But theirs gets the most reaction.
Wendy added: “We always get a shocked reaction, as no one expects what is out the back.
“People like to bring their children to see the giant tortoise.
“And even our housing officer was in her element.
“She joked that if we ever needed a house sitter, she’d happily do it.”
READ MORE: Brit baffled by ‘CRAZY’ US housing rules – up to 400 letters a MONTH on do’s and don’ts
