Advice needed on extended garden to match neighbours

TELLIT01

Demolish the garage and use that footprint to extend the garden.  Leave what is currently assigned as right of access to the other property as it is.

Norman_Castle

casper_gutman said:

A right of way will allow you to cross someone's land as needed to get to your own property. I don't think you have the right to go past your property to turn round on your neighbour's land.

I mean, it would be exceedingly mean of them to stop you if the space was there, but I'd be willing to bet you only really have a RoW over the land between your garden and the highway.

I'd suspect the ops right over the row is that it can be used as originally intended, to enter and leave the garage. Presumably this includes reversing either in or out of it over an area now fenced by their immediate neighbour. Its clear the intention was the row remained unobstructed.

Jeepers_Creepers

With no garages there to be accessed, as far as I can see AN18 can go ahead and extend his garden and place whatever he wants on that RoW.

In the knowledge that, should either of the neighbours further along (it doesn't even have to be his immediate neighb with whom he has this 'issue') builds another garage, he'll have to clear that space to allow vehicles to pass.

It is surely as simple as that? It's what his neighb has done.

I don't think there's anything on this planet that his neighb can do to stop him - until they decide to build a garage on their land first.

I think NA18 should explain this in the nicest way possible - "I'm just doing exactly what you have done, and both of us would need to clear our respective areas should you or the neighb further on wish to build a new garage. Yes? Cool."

theoretica

Might be interesting to get the neighbours deeds and read exactly what it does say about ROW.

twopenny

ROW includes walking if neighbours were so inclined.

As for the future and the chance of selling having a blocked Row would be a sticky point - access for a vehicle would be a bonus. People have motor bikes, electric bikes ad infinitum these days and like to store them safely. Not take them through the house or garden.

By all means extend it with gate way but keep the access and at least the garage base so that potential purchasers can errect their own structure. Put an arbour or green house on it.

silvercar

Do your neighbours also have side access? If not, I would have thought they would like the RoW to remain, if only to take stuff from back to front without traipsing through the house.

Jeepers_Creepers

twopenny said:

ROW includes walking if neighbours were so inclined.

As for the future and the chance of selling having a blocked Row would be a sticky point - access for a vehicle would be a bonus. People have motor bikes, electric bikes ad infinitum these days and like to store them safely. Not take them through the house or garden.

By all means extend it with gate way but keep the access and at least the garage base so that potential purchasers can errect their own structure. Put an arbour or green house on it.

Absolutely - the RoW remains. When selling, the situation is explained - anyone can reinstate it for vehicles just by building a garage (or whatever the deeds say).

This isn't unusual - there are LOTS of RoWs in deeds that are very rarely actually used, but they still exist should anyone wish to take advantage of them.

For this neighb to have decked and shedded (I'm sure that's a verb) their own RoW area to their neighb and then suggest to the OP they shouldn't also do this just in case they want to build a garage later on is completely unreasonable, and I think they'd find it nigh-on impossible to enforce.

AdviceNeeded18

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all your responses, I thought it might be handy to upload a couple of pictures to show how the garage RoW used to be, and how it is now as well as the two compromises I've proposed to the neighbour today:

AdviceNeeded18

So from my talk with the neighbour today, I got the following information:

• They do not want to build a garage or park vehicles on their property
• If they were to use this gate, it would only be to bring bags of materials such as gravel in to the garden
• They do not want us to extend purely as it affects their property value
• They believe the RoW only extends towards the road, so they do not care about us not being able to drive in and out if we wanted to replace our current garage and store our car there
• Under no circumstances are we allowed to extend our garden and put a gate which they have access to - as this doesn't constitute as the same level of right of way as which they have as they'd have to ask us (I said we'd give them a key for the lock so I don't know how this applies).

I then suggested the two compromises:
1. We extend the garden but leave ample space for arms-width length for them to walk through to their current gate.
2. We extend the garden but leave ample space however we cover the current gate and if they want to maintain access, they will have to move the gate to the end of their fence.

I sympathise with their point about not wanting to affect resale value, but the current area behind our garage is a total mess. It's been a constant battle with fly tippers so it's covered in rubble, massive pot holes, overgrown weeds and occasional rats from when people flytip. Wouldn't leaving it a mess and being legally obliged to note to the next seller about a neighbours dispute affect the property value more?

Jeepers_Creepers

Hang on, what if the neighb on the far right wished to build a garage? Or even walk along the backs of everyone's garden to that driveway going down the LH side? What does you neighb say to this? Does he realise that all the neighbs would now lose that extended part of their gardens again should this happen?

And, surely the simplest Q in the wurld; "How come you are asking me not to do this, when it's exactly what you and two others have done?"

There should be no loss of value. According to the deeds, should any of these neighbs wish to reinstate their garage, that would take priority. Ok, it wouldn't be a pleasant first step for the new owner to take - what an introduction to their neighbs! - but it's a simple fact. Why does your immediate neighbour think they are exempt from this?!

(Out of interest - why does no-one want their garages there any more?)