Fence dilemma with neighbours

Belle24

Hello all, looking to get some advice/ideas/experience on this one. Wehave recently moved into a semi detached and our drive is next to the drive of our non-attached neighbour with garages at the end of drive set into the back garden. We would like to put up a fence from halfway down the side of the house to the garage with a gate, primarily for security as currently anyone could walk up the drive and be in our back garden, but also for safety as we have a young toddler, baby on the way and also our privacy.
However our neighbour drives up the drive every night toput her car in the garage, the way the garages are slightly off set means that with a fence she will no longer be able to do this.
Therein lies our dilemma, we feel very fortunate to have good relations already with the neighbours on both sides but are not too sure how to broach this. Ultimately we are perfectly entitled to put up a fence, the majority of houses on the street already have, but in doing so our neighbour will not be able to use her garage for its intended purpose (for her) Her late husband always put the car in th garage so there is almost an element of sentimentality. Im aware the previous owner of the house broached the subject but as there currently is no fence for whatever reason they did not go ahead with it. Thoughts- softly softly or man up and get it done?

julie2710

I can understand you wanting to put a fence up to contain a toddler but is there no way you can put it from the corner of your house to the corner of your garage which would exclude your garage from what would basically then be an enclosed back garden? Alternatively, if you don't use your garage but have, I'm assuming, a side door which you want to include in the enclosed area could you not put a fence diagonally or slightly within your side thus allowing your neighbour to still use her garage as a garage which she would be legally entitled to do regardless of any "sentimentality".

Personally if I was in your neighbour's position and you erected a fence, on what is basically a shared driveway, that prevented me using part of my property for its intended purpose then I would be taking legal action against you to get it removed. By removing the use of her garage you are also indirectly reducing the value of her property. I would be surprised that there is not something in your deeds stating that you can't put up such a fence.

newtonflotman

Sorry, if you were my neighbour and you said you wanted to put a fence up that would stop me using my garage I would not be impressed.:mad:
Why can you not put a lock on your gate to your own back garden? Or even better,put a gate across the driveway where it meets the pavement, then both you and your neighbour would benefit!
I certainly would take legal action against you if you proceeded, as with the comments posted above.

tired_dad

Belle24 wrote: »

we feel very fortunate to have good relations already with the neighbours on both sides

Not for long I fear.

This is likely to escalate in a major headache. First thing would be to get some legal advice. Your neighbour may already have a right of access is the eyes of the law. I'm no expert but know enough to advise you get a professional opinion before doing anything.

Presumably the same applies to you, ie you wont be able to get a car into your garage? Do you want that? Might affect your resell as it cannot be described as a garage if a regular sized car cannot drive into it.

jblack_2

Are you sure you'd be allowed to put a fence up? Many of these situations have clauses in the deeds stating shared access rules etc.

If I were your neighbour and couldn't use my garage for it's intended purpose (I know few people do put their cars in them) I'd be pretty unhappy.

Leif

This sounds unfair on your neighbour. But I cannot picture the situation so I cannot really comment. Any chance of a picture.

allybee101

Softly softly. No point in ruining a good neighbourly relationship. Are you sure the deeds would allow you to do this? There might be mention of a shared driveway or similar?
Would you be able put a fence/ gate between your house and the cormer of the garage? You still get privacy, but garages remain fully accessible.

no1catman

Hard to judge without a plan - but if the aim is to stop your child wandering from the back?
Can you not put a high gate between the end of the house and the front corner of the garage. That is not on the dividing line at all.
This enables you to have a secure rear entrance/exit to the property.

laurel7172

Your neighbour is entitled to what you bizarrely call "sentimentality" on her own property. She probably also pays less for her car insurance by (shock horror) using a garage for what it's intended. Frankly, she isn't the one coming across as irrational.

It's none of your business what her reasons are and if you don't want to fall out with ALL your neighbours and declare a neighbour dispute when you come to sell, I'm afraid you're just going to have to put your fence somewhere else.

evoke

Probably best to have an informal chat about the security situation that concerns you and seem if she has any ideas. Chances are she probably isn't aware of the predicament you are in and casually approaching the subject with her may make her aware of it and at least allow you to converge ideas to an amicable compromise.

ilikewatch

Would it be possible to put a large double gate between both houses at the front, allowing the drive to be used, but remain secure when closed?