Trellis on party wall

Puflet

Hi all!

I've looked online all over the place and can't find any information on this, so thanks in advance if anyone can help!

I bought my current property in 1995. The back garden is very small, and one of the walls is the exterior of a building which used to be a dance school. It had a tumbledown trellis on it, with pyracantha and wisteria growing up it, which I replaced about 20 years ago with the knowledge and consent of the owner. No problems, just made sure the climbing plants didn't get into his guttering/roofspace etc by cutting them back regularly.

However, the dance school owner passed away a few years ago, and since then the building has been converted to a bungalow. When the builder put in the planning application, I raised the point of the trellis and asked what their plans were - they stated that the boundary on my side of the wall would stay as it was.

However, someone has now moved into the bungalow. She asked her gardener to lean over the adjoining fence and push my plants away from the wall. She told my partner we need to get rid of the climbers. I went round to reassure her that the climbers are kept trimmed and are growing on the trellis which has been there for years, and would not be damaging the wall the way that ivy would.

I have no wish to get into a dispute with my neighbour, and if the law requires that I get rid of trellis and plants, I will of course do so. But I'd rather not unless it's absolutely necessary!

Does anyone out there have experience with this sort of thing? I know you can't just attach things to boundary walls and fences without your neighbours' consent, but these predate the neighbour by 20+ years!

Doozergirl

A party wall is shared and straddles the boundary. Bith parties can attach to it.

This, however, sounds like a boundary wall which is formed by your neighbour's house and belongs solely to them.

You should not attach anything to a wall that is not your property. You have previously had express permission but don't have it anymore.

Sad, but it's not your wall. You could erect something in front of the wall and grow something up that, but your neighbour is still entitled to access their property for maintenance and you shouldn't do anything that might be to the detriment of their wall eg. cause damp.

Mojisola

Puflet wrote: »

It had a tumbledown trellis on it, with pyracantha and wisteria growing up it, which I replaced about 20 years ago with the knowledge and consent of the owner.

However, someone has now moved into the bungalow. She asked her gardener to lean over the adjoining fence and push my plants away from the wall.

Does anyone out there have experience with this sort of thing? I know you can't just attach things to boundary walls and fences without your neighbours' consent, but these predate the neighbour by 20+ years!

The trellis was put there with the consent of the previous owner.

The current owner hasn't given her consent.

It's her wall and she has that right.

If there is enough room in your garden, you could put a couple of posts in deep pots and fix the trellis between them. They can be pushed close to her wall - as long as you're not actually using the wall for support, she can't stop you having plants there.

Puflet

Thanks, both! I think possibly the best solution is to get rid of trellis, climbers etc and replace them with free-standing containers....

AdrianC

You could, of course, erect a freestanding trellis just in front of the neighbour's wall...