Blind Pontypool woman thanks Dragon Taxis, The Edenstone Group and OTL Group for gifting her new garden

Lisa Potter is thrilled with the combined efforts of three local businesses which rallied together to step in when she was let down after handing over £6500 to rogue tradesmen to complete work on her garden.

South Wales’ largest private hire and taxi firm, Dragon Taxis, Magor housing experts, The Edenstone Group, and Pontypool based construction firm OTL Group have been revamping her garden over the last few months, to make it useable, suitable and safe for her and her guide dog Henry to enjoy.

Previous poor workmanship had left her with an unsafe outdoor space at her home in New Inn, Pontypool, and had really knocked her confidence in trusting tradesmen. She had been promised the installation of fencing and decking and leveling of a patio, but none materialised and work was left unfinished, despite her shelling out.

A GoFundMe page was set up to help Ms Potter with the costs of correcting the work, but the three community-minded businesses were keen to help when they heard of her ordeal.

“It’s just amazing what Dragon Taxis, The Edenstone Group and OTL Group have done to help me,” Ms Potter said. “I will be forever grateful for what they have managed to salvage from my garden and to them coming to my rescue at a stressful time. I had lost confidence.

“Not only did they construct the decking in a way that was safe and easy for me to get up to my garden, but they also made the rest of the garden a usable and safe place for me, my dog and my family to use. They’ve also done an amazing job on the fence, so it will last now for many years to come.”

Jack Price, from Dragon Taxis said: “We were really disappointed to hear about her garden makeover experience. We really appreciate loyal passengers like Lisa, who has used Dragon Taxis for journeys with her assistance dog Henry for years.

“We are always keen to give back to our local communities and to hear how happy she is now is great. Edenstone and OTL offered their expert workmanship and have done such a good job.

“We were happy to contribute to the costs of transforming the garden so that Lisa would not be further out of pocket.”

Like Lisa, Nick Barrett, Operations Manager at Ashgrove Partnerships, which is part of the Edenstone Group, is also from Pontypool. He said: “Edenstone Group led the refurbishment and we are all delighted that Lisa is so happy with the outcome.

“As well as repairing the existing garden fence, we installed a new one to the top of the garden and leveled and re-turfed the rear garden.

“The decking is now much safer and more accessible, with a new handrail and a ramp to the garden replacing the previous fixtures and steps. This means that Lisa can enjoy the outdoors, whenever she wants.

“To complete her garden makeover, we cleared the lower level of the garden and gave the whole area a face lift with a new raised planter, Cotswold stone and a new side gate.”

Martin Barnfield, Operations Director at OTL Group, said: “The OTL group was very pleased to be part of this project to enable Lisa to enjoy her garden area again. Our local tradesmen worked with the other companies involved and enjoyed immense job satisfaction from assisting with the new decking area. We were horrified by the standard of the initial garden makeover.”

Dragon Taxis operates across Bridgend, Cardiff, Newport, Torfaen and the Vale of Glamorgan. The company is owned by transportation technology innovators Veezu Group, headed by CEO Nathan Bowles who also heralds from New Inn, just a few hundred yards from Lisa’s house.

A proportion of the proceeds from every home sold by the Edenstone Group, which includes Ashgrove Partnerships, goes to fund the Edenstone Foundation helping to make a difference in local communities.