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AIBU?

to be annoyed that the 'shed' my neighbour...

14 replies

zisforzebra · 15/06/2009 22:48

has put up is so big you'd probably be able to see it from space.

Okay, so maybe not space but he told us it would be a small wooden workshop area to replace the tin one that stood there before. Now it's up, it's easily 3 times the size and 4 metres from base to apex and is standing on concrete base that's half a metre high. It's blocking light to the bottom half of the garden (where my veg patch is) from about 3pm onwards.

That, combined with the house that is being built the other side (which will mean that all I'll see out of my kitchen, dining and kids' bedroom windows will be a brick wall), makes me not want to live here any more.

I can't decide if IBU to be so pissed off or whether it's because I'm stressed from going through redundancy consultations at work.

I just want to move far, far away.

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TheArmadillo · 15/06/2009 22:51

If it's that big he may need planning permission - you should have been informed if he applied for it.

Contact your local council and speak to the planning enforcement team. They might send someone out to check.

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TheArmadillo · 15/06/2009 22:58

in fact - just checked the planning portal (govt site very good) and have a look here

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StripeyKnickersSpottySocks · 15/06/2009 22:58

Is it really 4 metres? Thats about 15ft with the base. Which must be the height of a bungalow. If its really that tall then YANBU.

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TheyCallMeLofty · 15/06/2009 23:00

Someone from Planning will visit and if its to big he will have to take it down. My neighbour did the same

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lucykate · 15/06/2009 23:01

it sounds very much like what we have in our garden, dh uses ours as his office/studio. it doesn't matter what size it is but the regulations are, 4m is the maximum height, it has to be 1m away from any nearby boundary, and it must be 5m away from the house. other than than, you don't need planning permission for one of these as being made from wood, it's classed as a temporary structure.

it would have been the neighbourly thing to have talked to you about it before it was built. we showed all our neighbours pictures of what it was, went through dimensions and what they would see from their houses and gardnens before we went ahead. not that we would have stopped if anyone had objected, it was just to be polite!

we did get one complaint, from the only neighbour we don't know very well. but the only reason he can see more of it than he'd like to is because he keeps cutting down a tree in the corner of our garden without asking, shoots himself in the foot there really. planning people did come round to see it, i asked if the wanted to just in case any other complaints arose, all was ok with ours. just a shame your neighbour didn't chat to you about it before it went up.

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zisforzebra · 15/06/2009 23:08

He had the planning officer out before he put down the concrete base and was told that as long as it was a metre away from the boundary fence, he could go ahead with it. I don't know if he's increased the size of it since then.

Could I contact the planning department anonymously? To this point, we've got along quite nicely so I don't want to rock the boat. On the other hand, i'm really pissed off.

The grating thing is, he doesn't even have to look at it because he's got two massive trees between his house and the shed.

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zisforzebra · 15/06/2009 23:11

Sorry, TheArmadillo - I meant to thank you for your link in my last post.

lucykate - he did tell us of his plan but at no point did he mention that it was going to be that big.

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TheyCallMeLofty · 15/06/2009 23:11

I contacted them annoysmously, but my neighbour still seemed to know it was - I'm not sure if he guesssed or the man who came out told him.

My neighburs was too high which was why it had to be taken down

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lucykate · 15/06/2009 23:15

if you do contact the planning office, they won't tell him it was you. our planning office didn't tell me, i heard on the grapevine! but if they've already been out, it sounds like he has followed their guidelines.

this is what we have

ours is pretty big, but our garden is big. what percentage of his garden is his taking up?

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lucykate · 15/06/2009 23:19

is it the height that's the problem?, they can be 4m high max, but if his concrete base is high, it will make the apex high. we kind of sunk our concrete base down, dug out a lot of soil to keep the height as low as possible. still, 4m is high, it does amaze me these things don't need more official planning permission.

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zisforzebra · 15/06/2009 23:28

That looks really nice lucykate. I might not mind so much if it was that attractive instead of an orange bulk!

It takes up about 1/3 of his garden. It is the height that's bothering me because it blocks so much light and it dominates our garden too. We're in traditional victorian terrace houses with long, narrow gardens so it's quite oppressive.

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lucykate · 15/06/2009 23:34

his is orange!, oh dear!! ours is a 'sink into the background, almost don't know it's there browny green'.

i really feel for you, it's rotten when what someone else does to their garden or house has such a big impact on the neighbours. i took some convincing over our 'shed', we only went ahead as it's position is quite tucked away. there's no way i would have been happy if it was cutting out light to someone else's garden.

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dmo · 16/06/2009 09:19

get the planners round we were told our shed could be no higher than the garden wall

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Stayingsunnygirl · 16/06/2009 10:15

Is it worth asking him to come round to your house so he can see for himself the impact that it is having on your garden and your outlook?

If he's not prepared to be reasonable, then I'd contact the planners.

I hope that you can sort this out.

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