To go ahead and change this

[Cottagegardenblues]

NC as this could out me.

We bought a house with a pond in the front garden. There is a pretty cottage garden surrounding it. I want to fill the pond in and widen the drive, pushing the garden back. Mentioned it to a couple of local friends who said there is no way I can do that as "everyone" knows and loves my garden. A neighbour also told me, half jokingly, that I could never get rid of the pond.

I'm fed up with it. The pond pump causes the electrics to short and right now we cannot afford to repair it, the local cats hang out trying to catch the fish and poo around the pond, I find squashed frogs on the drive and the gardener spends shedloads of time taming the cottage garden.

Shall I just ignore the neighbours and do what I want to do? I sort of feel obliged to keep the garden for everyone else's sake.

It is your garden and property, do what you damn well please!

Your garden, your rules innit

It's your garden, you do with it what you want. It's not listed I assume?

Check with the council to be extra sure, but go for it.

um - you own it, you have to maintain it and live with it
are you really interested in keeping fish?
If you had bought this gnome infested house would you feel obligated to continue the last owners garden design?

Gift the pond-pump to the next loud-mouth who wants his/her pleasure supplied at no personal cost.

Say you are "passing on the torch".

Of course you can change it - it's your pond.

It's your garden. You can do what you like with it, within reason.

I'd consider filling a garden with gnomes bizarre and unreasonable.

Might depend where you live but I'm pretty certain you need planning permission to concrete over front garden and widen entrance to you drive. In london there are rules about the % of green if you want to do garden to drive which my uncle had to deal with when he wanted to make a 1 car drive into a 2 car drive. My parents also had a restriction on the width their drive entrance could be.

Didact

I was expecting lots of posters to ask me whether I had thought of wildlife, ecosystems etc.

I am glad to hear the "your garden, your rules" replies. I feel like it national park land.

Whois I didn't know about the percentage rule legislation! I'd better look it up before I rehome the fish.