Fence and Neighbour Dispute

zoominov

Hi All,

i have a ongoing dispute with my neighbour as her fence is in my garden - she is adamant that the fence is in her land is there a way i can check ?

Secondly she has put in a planning application to "Erection of a single storey rear and side extension and conservatory and reinstating the lightweight canopy"

I plan to oject this as this is blocking sunlight coming to my garden and due a ongoing boundary dispute !

is there anything else i can put on the comments on the planning application ?

Section62

zoominov said:

I plan to oject this as this is blocking sunlight coming to my garden and due a ongoing boundary dispute !

is there anything else i can put on the comments on the planning application ?

Does the boundary dispute directly impact on the development?  If not, think very carefully before mentioning it.  Your objection/comments will be published and available for everyone to see.  Think what a potential buyer of your property (and/or the neighbour's) will take from a public argument about where the boundary should be.

If the plans show the extension/conservatory being built on your land, or your land being assumed to be part of the neighbour's plot for other purposes (e.g. access to the rear garden) then it would be valid to make a comment on the application that it appears to require land the neighbour doesn't own and that as owner of this land you have no intention of making it available to the neighbour for their project.

There is nothing stopping anyone making a planning application for development on land they don't own, but in giving consent (or not) the council has to take into account whether the development can actually be built - they shouldn't give consent for 'impossible' development.

grumbler

zoominov said:

Hi All,

i have a ongoing dispute with my neighbour as her fence is in my garden - she is adamant that the fence is in her land is there a way i can check ?

There is no simple way unless this is pretty obvious. Post a fragment of your title plans.

I plan to object this as this is blocking sunlight coming to my garden

I don't think that this can ever be a valid reason, but you can try, especially if it's a two-storey extension.

twopenny

When looking to move at bungalows on a hill I noticed a few where conservatorys were built against fence lines each blocking the others garden light so I'm thinking that won't be a reason.

You must view your plans and do some measuring to establish boundaries.

What makes you think their fence is on your land?
That is important..

If you can post a copy of the official plan of your adjoining land that would be helpful.
If you don't have the facilities to do so the library has computers, sometimes scanners and the staff are very helpful

grumbler

Electronic copies are available from Land Registry for a smallish fee. 

Less accurate yet free - https://www.landregistry-uk.com/map-search

TELLIT01

Blocking light to a garden is very unlikely to affect a planning application.  If it was, there could be complaints everytime somebody put up a fence.  If the building would have a serious affect on light into the house that may make a difference.

grumbler

TELLIT01 said:

If it was, there could be complaints everytime somebody put up a fence.

Well, there are legal limits for fence height - and mainly because of exactly this reason. If it's higher than the allowed height (typically 2m) you can complain.

The same for outbuildings (permitted development), especially if close to a boundary.

Devongardener

You could pay for a professional boundary surveyor to confirm the boundaries in relation to the deeds, using GPS.  This the most accurate way to compare what is on the deeds and the position of the existing fence.
I did this when selling my mother’s house and it revealed that the accepted boundary lines were wrong and she had actually owned a lot more garden than she knew.