Neighbour Issues

Hi All

I am asking ppl what would you do, if you where place in my position .......

My back garden is a simple lawned area with a one tree.... boarders with nothing planted as yet, surrounded by a standard 6ft fence.......A few weeks ago our neighbours built one of these raised decks down the end of the garden, painted the fence...now find that once the deck had been completed we find that our neighbours can see not just into our garden but from the position of the decking into our home.....
Summers coming and theyve already had guesses over for a barbie and I certainly dont like ppl borping over the fence.... theres such a thing as privacy...

They painted the fence some horrid dark grey colour, which has stained through the fence..
Now some ppl would say go next door and have a chat, but they are the sort of ppl that dont care and wouldnt listen to reason.... Seems to us a certain degree of arrogance.

Spoke with the landlord who doesnt seem interested....well maybe my other half didnt speak to the right person, I spoke with the council planning.... only to be told dont attach anything to the fence as if it goes above 2.6m Id be breaking the planning law....but did point me in the direction of planting some hedges.....and let them grow.

My thoughts about the situation is this....Dont want trees ....If I planted some hedges along the fence, they wont get to height needed to block out there view... which leaves me of one option... which is set up a washing pole and line.....then hang a tarp / tank net over is.. thus I get some sort of privacy back.......

So what would you do ?

 

How about screens made with lattice a foot or so in from the fence and blocking the view of the deck. Maybe sit in your home and figure out placement by line of sight?

Then a window style box at the bottom and grow climbers like sweet peas or morning glories?

 

Not a nice situation, and it would be really good if you could attach a photo of this fence, but maybe it would be a good idea to put in some posts about a foot away from this fence with some trellis on it. Then maybe we could think of some fast growing climbers to grow on the trellis. Garden arches are also a way of adding height.
I`m sure some of the members on this forum will come up with a few other suggestions. Keep smiling - that always helps. Good luck.

Cross posts - snap @CanadianLori

 

Hi,

Who does the fence belong to, your property or theirs ?

What kind of distance are we talking about from your window to the fence ?

Roughly how high is their raised decking ?

According to the planning portal you can only have a maximum height of 30cm , but as I know to my cost my neighbour has one 4 ft high !

Planning Permission | Decking | Planning Portal

Interesting that your planning office did not mention that, though like most other things saying and enforcing is another matter.

Think avoiding the planning / legal route would be best, plus the more the neighbours know it annoys you the more they will likely try.

A few options to try and block their view; though it would be interesting to see a photo of the view / lay of the land from your window and how far the fence is from the house.

You could put up shed or similar structure or something like a trellis fence with a lot of fast growing climbers that will also grow higher than the trellis but not cause a problem with planning.

Also look at things like bamboo and other fast growing hedges, though you are looking a couple of years to get to the height needed.

An immediate and lo cost item is a suitably placed Sail, though rather obvious.
garden sail as a screen - Google Search

 

Or maybe some big pots with huge bamboo plants in them

 

I would be inclined to speak to your council, I'm pretty certain that there is a "right to privacy" issue going on if they can see into your main living area (I'm assuming you mean your main living areas and not simply your bedrooms?) but much would depend on the distance from you main living area and their raised decking (which means you would need to calculate the distance vs level of "intrusion").

I believe it applies to garden "overlooking" too, but you would need to do your research based on your particular council

Even if you did plant "hedging", you would be responsible for ensuring it was maintained at a height of 1.8 metres or you could be the subject of council attention (high hedges act 2014)

You may have to.
Before you can bring any complaint to your local council regarding these issues you may need to satisfy certain criteria. I may have the wrong piece of information swimming in my head but, generally, you need to approach your neighbour to resolve the issue on two separate occasions (of which, there is no hard and fast rule of how long constitutes a reasonable amount of time to rectify the situation) and then, if no agreement can be reached you need - with your neighbour - to attend mediation *before* you can make a serious complaint to your council (which will cost *you* for the privilege!).

There is no reason why you cannot attend your local MP surgery and sound out the possibilities/procedures/concerns - after all, they are there to act on your behalf and earn your vote so, worth a try.

Not a great situation and I really feel your frustrations.

Hoping you can find a way to resolve this with the least aggravation: Good luck!

 

@''M'' I think the council and the landlord have already been approached and neither one were very helpful.

 

So I saw noted and responded to.

which, I believe, is inaccurate (High Hedges legislation, 2014 - for England it is actually a part of the anti-social behaviour clauses), in addition to ...

which I also believe to be inaccurate (again, I refer to the High Hedges legislation 2014)

Just because the council were "unhelpful", does not (necessarily) mean they are "right" hence my post aka ... the poster (in my opinion) is being fobbed off by the council and being given fly advice (seemingly dressed up as "fact") which then resulted in the post on here.

As I stated in my earlier post, the OP needs to do some research, and calculations, on which aspects of the "living areas" (and garden) are being overlooked; assess levels of invasion of privacy and then approach the council again (with these facts) and even consult his local MP for advice.

 

A photo would help......
Maybe a few strategically placed shrubs....quick growers like buddleias.....or screens would make a difference ????
Not sure a right to privacy would apply here

 

IMHO, I would just buy some Bamboo as mentioned, if planted correctly it can easily be contained, its a fun plant for me ads a little tree blowing noise to the garden, can easily be shaped to a certain extent and fun to watch grow,

Anything you do via government will only upset them more and cause more trouble for you, even though your in the right to want your privacy, sometimes its best to get on with doing something on your own steam,

I've met these type of people just keep out of there way and they will eventually go away and move on to someone else, they live to cause trouble

 

Thanks for the replies..... Im getting that feeling that you can generally build a deck in a back garden, could be over 30m but hey who cares.....and you can invade someones privacy and yet LL or councils dont give a rats monkeys....

Think the washing line idea with traup / tank netting might be the way forward and send the right signal to the neighbours

 

I have no doubt it may feel that way, but that is not the fact of the matter.
If *you* care enough, then challenge it! No, the Landlord will not take it up. But that isn't the main issue; the main issue is between you, the affect on your (rented) property and the council.
To challenge it successfully, you need to research the facts, challenge the council's lethargic response - no, you are quite right, they do not give a rat's monkeys all the while it means they can fob you off and you roll over! Challenging it means they have to put time and effort into it (as do you!).

The facts are out there (you've been given a heads up) - go find them, challenge the council and make them earn their crust in resolving it. If you are not prepared to do that ... go hang tarp The neighbours won't care (why should they? They are not unhappy; you are!) and it's a "cutting your nose to spite your face" solution.

Double check it is actually higher than 30cm. Then, check your council planning website to see if they put in planning permission for the "raised" decking. Let that be your starting point.

 

You also have the option of building a pergola and growing climbers over it.

pergola images - Bing images

 

Venting your frustration in that way will likely only exasperate the situation.

Just play it cool and put up something that will enhance your view as well as screening them out.

As a short term measure some net curtains can be very effective at regaining your privacy without blocking your view of the garden.

Again ,without seeing your garden, sometimes a smaller screen but nearer the house can have the same effect as a large screen up against the far fence, if you see what I mean.