Should I ask my neighbours if we can have designated times to sit in the garden?

If the OP does this then it just makes them look like a complete knob and will affect other neighbours with noise.
Reasonable noise but there is no need to add shite music and potentially screaming kids on purpose. That's just rubbish having to listen to shrieking kids.
Having said that I don't think OP would allow her kids to scream and yell anyway.

Make notes of his conversations and ask him questions about it over the fence e.g. Did Bob get the order for the Woolworths project and did he have to drop the price to £825k?

I'm quite bemused as to why someone who is easily bothered by normal, everyday noise bought a house on a new build estate where the houses are all crammed in to maximise the developers' profits, tbh.

There's a new estate near me where the "detached" houses are so crammed in that there's only a foot or two between the gutters of neighbouring properties.

Agree with this.
You are mad they can do as they wish in their garden.
Is this a wind up?🙄

I do understand that loud and intrusive noise can be annoying BUT there is very little that you can do about it.
Honestly I’d rather listen to other people’s gossip than screaming children but I am nosy!
The bikini thing- have you never been to the beach? Or the swimming pool? What do you wear on holiday? Unless they’re completely naked they can wear what they want in their own private garden. Stop staring.

Or a convent.

Ground rules?? OMG, this sound like a dad taking his teens to task. 🙄I would be giving him and his ground rules a short reply tbh. I think most sane people would.

It's annoying having neighbours like that. I feel the same but you can't ask them to use their garden at a designated time.
I think you should just use your garden and key your children play noisy games, play football etc.

Looking forward to the update.....

I remember that one. The kids had posh names too.

Actually the dating escapades sound much more fun than noisy children

Play your music ,- pick something classical or choral. Have a party. Make a bit of a din. Maybe they'll realise how loud they are.

Try enjoying your garden and not worrying about what the neighbours do

We did the same, moved to the country and its been bloody fabulous. I was never able to enjoy being in the garden before we moved here, other people's noise used to drive me barmy. Sometimes I have to pinch myself that we've got no neighbours and that this is actually our house. Its amazing!

Honestly, get over yourself. You’re really not that important. You don’t get to lay down ground rules to you neighbours just because you moved in first. Listen to yourself for goodness sakes. You don’t own the surrounding properties, stop being a princess and grow up.

Of course it isn’t but being that entitled that you actually think you can move into a new estate and then allocate your neighbours designated time in their own garden is utterly bonkers.

I needed a laugh! They can wear what they like in their own garden, even just underwear if they want. Stop looking! And once your children are playing and making a noise in the garden they would probably say the same about not being able to enjoy themselves because of the racket. Works both ways. Thinking about it, this can’t be real.

There’s no way this is real! Entertaining? Absolutely! Real? Nope! 🤪

Haha! ‘This is why the countryside was invented.’ Love it! 😂

Anyone called 'House' yet? 😀

@banmusk behave like what?

OMG this has made me LOL... I am the mid 30's married neighbor with no kids and a dog... like to socialise and have bbq's etc... but then so do my neighbors who have kids and are older than me. I am sure they are not the only people around about you who have such activities? Or do you just not like them?

There have been lots of parties/events/bbqs/ around us where there are kids shouting and screaming, trampolines being bounced on, footballs being rattled off fences etc. people out jet washing cars at 8am when I want a lie in...
But that's just part of living in an estate, which we knew when we moved there!

I would tread very carefully with putting a note through the door like that... you may well end up having more problems than you already have. People don't tend to take kindly to these sort of things.

And in reality, you might hear these conversations (or are you eavesdropping?), but if your kids are preoccupied with playing or doing whatever they are doing then I doubt they are tuning in to it the same way you are.

If my neighbour put a note through my door like that, I would post it back.

I recommend a detached bungalow in an area with other bungalows. It means no-one is overlooked and most of the neighbours are elderly. It's a bit more convenient than being in the middle of nowhere, much as I like the idea of that.

It sounds very annoying but there's nothing you can do.

I mean you can ask.
And then you can come back here and tell us how it went.