Fence on Council Land

curpin

Our contractor moved our fence to a pedestrian path while doing a small building project.
Because of financial difficulties, we are unable to reinstate it.
The council is threatening us to fix it and make us pay for the work and at the same time pursuing a legal advice.
I am wondering if the council can have a legal case against us or force us to cover the cost of the work done?
Thank you in advance.

Wicked_Lady

Have you spoken to your Contractor about this?

Should the Contractor not have moved the fence back to its original position?


Are you saying they wanted to charge you extra for moving it back and you now can't afford it?


How much money are we talking about?

curpin

We had issues with the contractor, so he is out of the picture.
Reinstating the fence will cost somewhere between £1800 and £3000.
The letter I received states that in the event they choose to reinstate it, they will have the freedom of their choice to just mark the boundary, but not necessary the security or privacy we need.
Before receiving the council letter, a council contractor told me that they might put another fence and send me the invoice.

davidmcn

Are the council saying you must put the fence back up where it was? Or just that you need to move it off their land?

sal_III

If your contractor has moved the fence on council land in error, you should ask them make it right. They are likely to have insurance to cover such issues.

If the fence between your land and council land was moved beyond the boundary on council land the council can tear it down and put it in the right place. If this was caused by you and/or your contractors, they can sue you for the cost of making it right.

curpin

The council is saying that they have the right to remove items that are placed on the councils land (that is our old fence moved around 3 feet to the pedestrian path) and the right to recover expenses that would be a burden on the council, otherwise.

curpin

The council wants me to remove my temporary fence from the Councils land as I mentioned they said they have the right to do so and recover the costs.

Grezz24

So you had a new fence fitted, and the old fence was dumped on council land is that right?

The contractor should be the one either removing the old fence, or fitting the fence back after the project was completed, didnt you discuss this as part of the work?

davidmcn

curpin wrote: »

The council wants me to remove my temporary fence from the Councils land as I mentioned they said they have the right to do so and recover the costs.

Well, that sounds accurate, and fair enough. Doesn't mean you need to re-erect it on your boundary, just get it shifted off their land.

parkrunner

curpin wrote: »

The council wants me to remove my temporary fence from the Councils land as I mentioned they said they have the right to do so and recover the costs.

Seems perfectly reasonable.

curpin

I understand.
The old fence was moved to the Council's land in order enable the contractor undertaking the building work.
I have a legal case against the contractor, so he will not do the job.
At the moment I don't have the financial means to reinstate the fence, the council does not want to wait anymore... They have waited enough to be fair to them...
The question is, do the council has the legal rights to undertake the work and make me cover the costs?