RESIDENTS of an exclusive area of Salcombe have hit back at claims they are 'encroaching' on public land.

In April, representatives of South Hams Council met town councillors and staff to discuss the possibility of erecting a low fence around parts of The Berry, in order to demarcate the public land from the roads around it.

The fence would be designed to address 'significant land encroachment issues', where laybys, parking spaces or passing places have eaten in to the Berry side of Fortescue Road.

The Berry was bequeathed to the people of the town by Elspeth Carr, heir to the Carr's Biscuits fortune. It is registered to South Hams Council, and maintained by the town council.

But residents say that the laybys are actually on Crown land, as they are part of Fortescue Road. They believe Land Registry maps show The Berry begins at a line of telegraph poles.

They note that, when Fortescue Road was tarmaced at residents' expense in 2013, the area covered was much narrower than the original road.

And Bruce Walsham, speaking on behalf of a group of residents of Fortescue Road and surroundings, said some residents had been maintaining parts of the land for as long as 25 years.

Following an article in the Gazette last week, Mr Walsham wrote to the town council urging them to establish the boundaries of The Berry, as it is 'very important that any action taken is clearly within the council's jurisdiction'.

The letter also says: 'No one is seeking to claim any Berry land whatsoever, but are merely maintaining the true width of Fortescue Road.'

Speaking later, Mr Walsham said: 'We don't believe that residents are encroaching onto Berry land. In fact, we feel rather that Berry land has encroached onto Fortescue Road.

'We've had feedback from some former councillors, who do believe the telegraph poles mark the edge.'

For more on this story, see this week's Kingsbridge & Salcombe Gazette