neighbours huge decking

Davesnave

Soot2006 said:

 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)!

I'm not sure which Euonymous you mean, as there aren't any evergreen ones that go high, or quickly. Winterberry is an American deciduous holly, so I'm fairly confused! There are lots of alternatives which wouldn't wreck a house's foundations though, without resorting to leylandii or blocking ones own view.

carefullycautious

I would have thought you would have some redress with the previous owners if there was a dispute and they did not let you know. However, I would do exactly what you are doing with the mediator and try not to engage with her. 

annie206

Davesnave said:

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.

Morning Dave. That fence wouldn't be half as bad if it was fitted properly. In a desperate bid to take what isn't hers, her son it law discovered there was an old tree stump where he wanted to put a post. Instead of digging it out he hacked a hole in it and put the post in the stump. When the wind blows the whole thing sways. And also, there's no base boards so there's a foot gap under each panel. To over come this shes had tons of top soil dumped on her side to fill the gap, now everytime she waters her garden i end up with rivers of mud flowing under the fence. On the plus side, it won't be difficult to remove once she's informed it has to go. I have planted some trees along that line though, a couple of silver birch and an acacia. I just wish they'd hurry up and grow! X

Freecall

I am stunned by your picture.

That terrace definitely needs planning consent (which it won't get).

You need to complain (via email with that photograph) to your Local Planning Authority.  They will then follow their local compliance protocol which will be something like this :

1.  Confirm complaint is valid.
2.  Visit site.
3.  Advise owner that planning consent is needed and invite an application.
4.  Determine the application.  -  Reject.
5.  If not removed, serve Enforcement Notice.
6.  If still not removed, serve notice that it will be removed by LPA at owner's expense.

The detail varies from LPA to LPA but broadly speaking they all follow this sequence.
 
It can take a while because at every stage your neighbour will be given between 14 and 28 days to comply.  Plus the planning application will take 8 weeks plus the validation period of your LPA.  Also, she could delay things further by appealing the initial planning application to the Planning Inspectorate if she was so minded.  The same applies to the Enforcement Notice.  If she does, the appeals will be declined however.

Stay with it though because at the end of the day you will get it removed.  Apart from the initial complaint you won't have to do anything, your LPA will do it all.

This is what the planning laws are there for.

annie206

Freecall said:

I am stunned by your picture.

That terrace definitely needs planning consent (which it won't get).

You need to complain (via email with that photograph) to your Local Planning Authority.  They will then follow their local compliance protocol which will be something like this :

1.  Confirm complaint is valid.
2.  Visit site.
3.  Advise owner that planning consent is needed and invite an application.
4.  Determine the application.  -  Reject.
5.  If not removed, serve Enforcement Notice.
6.  If still not removed, serve notice that it will be removed by LPA at owner's expense.

The detail varies from LPA to LPA but broadly speaking they all follow this sequence.
 
It can take a while because at every stage your neighbour will be given between 14 and 28 days to comply.  Plus the planning application will take 8 weeks plus the validation period of your LPA.  Also, she could delay things further by appealing the initial planning application to the Planning Inspectorate if she was so minded.  The same applies to the Enforcement Notice.  If she does, the appeals will be declined however.

Stay with it though because at the end of the day you will get it removed.  Apart from the initial complaint you won't have to do anything, your LPA will do it all.

This is what the planning laws are there for.

Thank you so much for that detailed info. I'll do exactly that, I'll email the council this afternoon. I know things will get messy, and she'll hit the roof, but i can't bear people who take whats not theirs by being intimidating. 
Thank you again x

Abbafan1972

Hi there,
I can't offer any help as such but just offer my support and I hope you get everything sorted.  I showed my hubby the picture and he too was amazed that there are people like this!  They must be mentally unhinged to want a view across your garden, why would they want that?
Keep us posted and take care x 

annie206

Abbafan1972 said:

Hi there,
I can't offer any help as such but just offer my support and I hope you get everything sorted.  I showed my hubby the picture and he too was amazed that there are people like this!  They must be mentally unhinged to want a view across your garden, why would they want that?
Keep us posted and take care x 

Thankyou Abbafan, thats really nice of you. I'll keep you all updated x

trex227

I wouldn’t bother trying to plant anything to block the view- I can imagine whatever you plant “mysteriously” dying. Just go straight down the council route

annie206

trex227 said:

I wouldn’t bother trying to plant anything to block the view- I can imagine whatever you plant “mysteriously” dying. Just go straight down the council route

That has crossed my mind, unfortunately x

AdrianC

carefullycautious said:

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.

Looks like that's continuing the ground level at the top of the garden, while the actual ground drops steeply.

Again - if that decking has been there for a decade, and the main difference is the removal of a fence from it, then the planners can't do a sausage...