Neighbour dispute, conversion to residential

BobQ

OP you are clearly frustrated by what is going on in the neighbouring plot. You need to decide what your objective is for the situation. Do not get bogged down on issues of boundaries unless what the neighbour is doing is really causing difficulty.

The real issue is whether this change from commercial to residential and if so is it allowed. You may need to consult the planning authorities to find out what the law is in your locality. Alternatively speak to a solicitor. It is difficult for people on hear to comment without an appreciation of the site, but you need to decide if there are any grounds for objection and what they are, and they need to be objections that are legitimate under planning law.

You can access the planning portal on line and may be able to download relevant documents (eg planning applications the neighbour has made before). This can be useful. For example you may find he has been refused planning permission in the past.

I cannot defend his abusive comments but there are two sides to any dispute. He may see your objections as trivial while to you they are important. Ultimately it would be better to meet him and resolve the matter rather than object go everything he does.

A Sky Dish hanging over the boundary is not important unless you want to make it an issue. The fence is only a problem if he does not replace it with something else (is he doing that?).

ETA - Sorry I did not see your earlier post, you seem to have resolved a way forward.

princeofpounds

Regarding the boundary, my deeds state that I am responsible for purchasing and maintaining a fence on this particular boundary unless there is a building present. There is a building present on the neighbour's side and mine as well (the garage) with a small gap between the buildings. However, the buildings do not extend along the whole length of the boundary, and the ex-fence made up the difference, which is why I assumed that I owned it.

Thanks for the update, very helpful.

I would suggest you get the dish removed and the garage roof repaired as early as possible in the process, because I suspect both may be 'forgotten' about.

From what you write above, I think it is highly likely that the fence was yours, unless it was placed on his side of the boundary line. Was it dead-centre in the gap between the two buildings, was it inline with the edge of his building, or was it fully inside the edge of his building?

Do you think he is trying to claim that the boundary is along your building wall, as opposed to in the centre gap or along his building wall?

dragon32_2

princeofpounds wrote: »

From what you write above, I think it is highly likely that the fence was yours, unless it was placed on his side of the boundary line. Was it dead-centre in the gap between the two buildings, was it inline with the edge of his building, or was it fully inside the edge of his building?

Do you think he is trying to claim that the boundary is along your building wall, as opposed to in the centre gap or along his building wall?

The nearest edge of the fence appears to be flush with his building wall.

The fence also had a gate attached to it, in a very similar style (age, colour) to the rest of the fence, and the gate very definitely belonged to the neighbour. The fence panels are similar but not identical in design to some other fence panels on the property that I definitely own.

I have spoken with the previous owner of my house, and although he does not know for sure if he owned the fence, he always believed it to belong to the neighbour and never maintained it.

The developer did 'threaten' that he believed my garage's guttering might overlap his property but I do not think this is the case as there is a gap between the buildings.

So I believe the fence may have belonged to the neighbour, but I may buy an official copy of the deeds (rather than the electronic copy I already have) to see if it details the situation more clearly.

princeofpounds

Ok sounds like the fence was wholly on his property then. So it likely was his after all. It's not the position itself that determines ownership, but in the absence of other evidence it's most probable that the builder of the fence took care to build it wholly on their land.

If it was along the boundary line, the comment in your deeds would be an indication of possible ownership.

Doubt your guttering overhangs the boundary.

Suggest you make sure to agree a boundary and put up a firm boundary feature.