Boundary dispute and responsibility

ButterCheese

I went around to the neighbours at the weekend, the boundary fence looks legit (concrete posts and wire fence).  Behind which is a steep bank and then our retaining brick wall.  So the bamboo is on our side and has spread to their garden.

They have spent a few hundred so far getting rid of it (paying labourers and paying to dispose of the bamboo roots) so I am counting my blessings they have done what they've done.  Still baffles me that someone would do this rather than reporting it, but there you go.

We have arranged that I go round there next weekend to help dig the rest out.  I offered weedkiller but they declined as they have pets.  

My only worry now is, in order to get some of the roots out we may have to dig into the slope/bank, which is directly under our retaining wall.  If necessary I will have to ask if they're open to another wall being built which I'll pay for.  

silvercar

I wouldn’t automatically assume that a boundary fence near a bank is the legal boundary.

We have our back fence this side of a culvert/ stream that runs between us and the house behind. The neighbours have put up a fence on their side of the stream. This leaves the actual stream and its banks’ in no-man’s land. Our deeds show it as belonging to us, though our neighbours seems to have managed to palm their stretch off to the house behind them, who have put some decking over their stretch.

ButterCheese

silvercar said:

I wouldn’t automatically assume that a boundary fence near a bank is the legal boundary.

We have our back fence this side of a culvert/ stream that runs between us and the house behind. The neighbours have put up a fence on their side of the stream. This leaves the actual stream and its banks’ in no-man’s land. Our deeds show it as belonging to us, though our neighbours seems to have managed to palm their stretch off to the house behind them, who have put some decking over their stretch.

I didn't assume at first, but looking at the deeds there is a straight line down the back of everyone's garden and this fence follows that line.  I have no choice but to go with the flow now, as they've spent hundreds on removing it so far and could very well have sought some sort of legal compensation for what they've done as it was all planted on our property.  The neighbours to one side have already said that they remember it being planted by our previous owner so if it came to evidence (which would be everyone else's word against ours) then we'd be struggling.  And above all else, neither of us want to go down the route of involving solicitors, surveyors etc because we'd then be out thousands of pounds.  As they are friendly, it makes sense just to do all I can to get rid of it to keep up my end of the bargain.  I'm just happy so far it has not cost me any money

Section62

ButterCheese said:

...

My only worry now is, in order to get some of the roots out we may have to dig into the slope/bank, which is directly under our retaining wall.  If necessary I will have to ask if they're open to another wall being built which I'll pay for.  

This was something in your earlier posts I found a bit odd, and might have been influenced by where the boundary was, if not just a case of the previous owners looking for the cheapest solution.

Normally you try to build retaining walls at the bottom of a slope, because part way up the slope you can't guarantee you'll get a sound foundation - and the process of digging out the foundation itself can lead to slope instability.  Building a retaining wall near the top of a slope is typically either a case of no other option (for example supporting a road high up a steep slope), or trying to level off the ground at the top in the cheapest possible way.

If the slope runs along the back of the gardens on the neighbours to the sides as well, then a replacement wall lower down the slope would need to be designed carefully to stop loss of ground to the sides (e.g. using something like wing walls).  It is unlikely to be a cheap job, to do it properly.