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A new barbed-wire fence is causing a divide in London’s Westmount neighbourhood.

For more 40 years, local residents say Lynngate Grove Park was accessible from both Village Green Avenue and Lynngate Grove. But a newly built private fence on the north end has left the park with only one entrance.

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“When you walk down the street as soon as you see the fence, it makes your blood boil,” said Andy Moir, who’s lived on Lynngate Place for 21 years.

The north access point had long connected the park to the private property of a local convenience store. The lot is now used by the office of Mapleton Homes.

Representatives from Mapleton Homes declined to comment.

Neighbours say they saw a barbed-wire fence go up in the last few days.

London city hall officials confirmed they didn’t build the fence, but did remove the northern concrete pathway that ran through the park and led to the private property.

“Over the years we had a long-standing relationship with the owners to the north,” said Andrew MacPherson, city hall’s manager of parks planning. “The land transferred to a new owner, who for whatever reason has chosen to fence the property, which they are within their rights to do.”