A Bristol councillor wants you to know the local authority could have a bird’s eye view of your garden - and can see if you're "nibbling away" at public parks.
Labour representative Don Alexander suggested residents should be made aware of the council's capability so people will stop sneakily nudging their fences out.
Bristol City Council uses aerial photographs to help survey all of the city’s parks and green spaces every two years.
This can be used alongside other information to determine whether residents have moved their fence outside their boundary line, a spokesperson said.
The council’s use of geographic information system (GIS) data was discussed at the latest meeting of its communities scrutiny commission on July 24.
The data is being used as part of a two-year, grant-funded project to assess the value of the city’s parks and seek partnerships to maintain and develop them.
Cllr Alexander said the information could also be used to “make sure we can stop people nibbling away at the edge of parks”.
“There are places where people are extending their gardens and doing all sorts of things and it is a cause of concern because it is public land,” he said. “I know people who’ve put their fence out.
“If we’re using GIS, why don’t we let people know that we know,” he said. “Just say ‘we’ve got a picture of it’.”
A council spokesman said the aerial photographs of Bristol are supplied by aerial survey company, Bluesky International.
He said: “We survey all parks and green spaces every two years.
“We use a combination of aerial imagery from Bluesky International Ltd, inspections by operational teams and information provided by members of the public.
“Any encroachment that is reported or identified is investigated, and action taken where required.”
The council’s Bristol Future Parks Prospectus project, funded by a £900,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage fund, involves a comprehensive assessment of the city’s parks and partnership opportunities.
Expressions of interest from partners exploring investing in the city’s parks are expected to be sought in about a year’s time.
For the latest news in and around Bristol, check back on Bristol Live's homepage.
