An amateur beekeeper is fighting to keep his aviary after neighbours complained his swarms of bees were making their gardens "unusable".
Residents on a suburban street in Poole have complained that amateur beekeeper John Board can't control his bees.
Mr Board is at war with his neighbours after they claimed his swarms are making their gardens "unusable."
The amateur beekeeper is now fighting his local council to be allowed to keep his bees.
Mr Board bought a piece of empty land behind his house so that he could triple the size of his garden and have room to keep bees.
But neighbours have complained that the amateur beekeeper can't keep a handle on his hives, making it impossible for them to enjoy their back gardens.
Retired taxi driver Calvin Dade, 68, told the Daily Mail: "We had a swarm last summer, which lasted about three or four days where we were stuck inside and couldn't let the grandchildren in the garden."
"It was a whole hive full, it must have been at least a thousand."
"We had to get one of our friends who is a beekeeper to come round. She put up a temporary hive to catch them all."
"She said that if they are properly looked after they don't swarm."
"When I spoke to him about it, his attitude was just 'so, that's having bees'. We used to get on well with them, but not since this."
Another neighbour, Stuart Tizzard, said that Mr Board took "no action whatsoever" to deal with a swarm in June last year.
Mr Tizzard said that neighbours sought the advice of beekeeping associations, who said that responsible beekeepers would take action to prevent swarms or minimise disruption in the event that a swarm occurs.
Mr Board and his wife, Lorraine, acquired the plot of land in 2023. The built three sheds, decking, and chairs on the lot.
Neighbours complained, and BCP Council told the Boards they would need planning permission for a change of use to a residential garden.
The permission was refused as it would result in "unacceptable levels of overlooking" of neighbouring properties.
The Boards have now appealed for retrospective permission to turn the land into a "wildflower meadow", which would allow them to keep their apiary.
Neighbours are objecting to the plans, citing the impact of swarming bees on their own back gardens.
In a letter of objection, Mr Tizzard wrote: "Their bees swarmed and clustered in our garden, meaning we and our neighbours could not use our rear gardens for more than one week during the height of summer."
"We had to employ a beekeeper (at cost) to relocate the bees. The situation caused disruption and risk to our children and pets."
"In addition to swarming bees, our patio was littered with a significant number of dead and dying bees, which presented a further risk to people and pets, as well as being indicative of poor bee welfare practices."
Barry Wicking, another neighbour, added: "We are all for bees and their important job to our environment, however having bee hives in a residential area surrounded by houses is ridiculous."
"We have had to endure a huge bee swarm last year, which then prevented us from having any doors or windows open for a good week during the summer time."
"We could not let our dog out into the garden due to the amount of them flying around or sadly the dead ones on the ground from the aftermath."
"I understand this can happen, but responsible beekeepers would have assisted with solving the issue or even just an apology for the nightmare they caused. But nothing!"
"It has petrified my children from enjoying their garden as much as they would like to."
He also said they have had to endure a "constant invasion of privacy" due to the height of the land.
He added: "This makes it eye level with bedroom windows and also possible to see down into our dining area, living room and garden."
Mr Board's planning agent disputed neighbours' objections.
He said Mr Board's bee hives had the backing of the Dorset Wildlife Trust. He added that a dedicated wildlife meadow was an appropriate setting for bee hives, and the swarm cited by Mr Wicking happened when the owner was abroad and that he did not believe they were his bees.
He also said that swarms can happen "with even the most carefully managed apiaries" and were not a sign of irresponsible beekeeping.
Mr Leigh said the Boards also suggested building a 6ft boundary fence to address any privacy concerns.
Mr Board was approached by the Daily Mail, but did not wish to comment.
