neighbours huge decking

Freecall

dimbo61 said:

Just report the Nice neighbors to the council planning department as the Deck is higher than 30cm and covers more than 50% of the garden.

dimbo61 is correct.  Forget the history of the pool it is irrelevant, the decking is all that matters.

It is not Permitted Development and therefore needs consent (which from the way you describe it seems unlikely to be granted).

You don't need to justify things or make a case to your Local Planning Authority, simply send a picture and complain.  There will be a link on their website.  One email is all it will take, they will do the rest.  Also, they will not let your neighbour know about your complaint.

Be prepared for a bit of a wait though, there is a whole process the LPA need to go through before getting it removed.

macman

If her incentive for this abomination is 'the view across your garden', then perhaps you could remove the incentive? Obtain some scrap metal, a couple of burnt out cars, a few tonnes of assorted skip contents, and distribute it strategically around so that she gets the full benefit of the enhanced view? The fence might go back up quite soon...

annie206

Thank you all for your advice/comments. Planting along that part of the wall wasn't really an option as our steps down the side of our house run along the base of the wall and the wall is concreted to the steps - does that make sense? But I've sat thinking and have decided to move where the steps run into the garden. So where the steps are now will be large planters made from block and rendered, and then i can plant up against the wall. Im thinking either bamboo, as it's not classed as a tree, or something like a rowan tree (to ward off her evil spirit) I can't really plant anything with a big root system as it's close to our house. When she stands on the far edge of her decking she is roughly half way down the garden as the decking is so big. I have photos, am I allowed to post them on here? 

Soot2006

Bamboo in a planter can be very nice and does provide a good screen, but the screen effect will be limited during annual pruning as you will need to thin them out or they'll crowd each other out. .

A Rowan tree is always a favourite of mine, but they can be a bit wispy ... 

Consider a hedge euonymous for year-round greenery - relatively fast growing as well and make a nice hedge alongside other plants ... I'd want something a bit spiky in there too, but your evergreen options are limited to a nice bush holly if you want it to look nice, too.

I think it's OK to post picture - make sure you/your neighbour/location can't be easily identified.

carefullycautious

I hope nobody can identify where you are and who she is as it will ignite things for sure.
I must admit I have never seen anything like this. Why is the decking so high, have you lovely views if higher up? I would show this to planning dept and see what take they have on this before approaching this neighbour.

Madmel

That is awful.  The fence looks horrible.  I'm pretty sure if it's in your garden you can remove it.  However, in the meantime, why not try a garden sail?  It would shade some of your garden but is temporary and would at least prevent some of the staring in.  Link just as an example https://www.domondo.co.uk/awnings/sail-shades/sun-shade-garden-sail-square-waterproof/cream/300x300-cm?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyKqvi5rM6QIViu3tCh1GowDUEAQYAiABEgLypPD_BwE

Davesnave

I like the fence, as a bland background. I'd like it even more clothed in plants. As someone else has said, an investment in clumping bamboo might be worth it (not the much cheaper running kind) but before I shelled out £100s, I'd see if the council would be willing to act on the deckamania, as it's really taking the urine.

Meanwhile, could you rig up an outdoor speaker to play Jimi Hendrix's "All Along The Watchtower" at a sensible volume whenever you see her surveying your kingdom like that? Might get the message across.

carefullycautious

If she has gone to the expense of putting that fence up why on earth does she then want to look over it. Speechless!!!

Soot2006

Hmmmmmm. Ouch!  That is unpleasant.

I think planning might actually be interested in that one, given how picky they are about people NOT using their flat roof as terraces due to overlooking issues.

But I'd definitely be  going with an evergreen tree, so not a rowan.  Can see why you considered bamboo ... I still like the euonymous better, but as a few trees  rather than a hedge! They do get a nice spread (e.g Winterberry tree)!

annie206

Thanks Carefullycautious. Things are already ignited im afraid. She's been awful since we moved in. She used to have free run of our garden for 10 years as it was an empty house. She had all the trees in our garden removed to improve her view. There was no fence when we moved in but she had that put up after we questioned where the boundary was. We've since discovered there was a dispute over the boundary in 2017 and our previous owner employed a surveyor and had a Determined Boundary done, with exact measurements. Unfortunately for her, she also signed it. We are now in contact with a boundary dispute mediator, who will visit us once the lockdown has eased. He's looked at the paper work and documents and told us she will be made to take it down. She doesn't know this yet. Our wall runs down the side of our house, on our side of the boundary and she has attached her fence to it so it runs end to end and is now claiming the wall is hers. Shes an absolute nightmare. We even had to put mirrored film on our kitchen window as we caught her taking photos of us through the window. Anyway, ive gone off topic, where she is standing used to have a 6 ft fence between her and us and privacy wasnt an issue x