AIBU to object to neighbour using my garden as their main access?

I still can’t get over her refusing to use her own front door, which surely is a faster and easier way to get into her house!

Would it be legal to lock the gate and give her a key?

Or I really liked the keypad option previous poster mentioned

My BiL had this with his end terrace, though I’m not sure the traffic was as heavy as what you’re coping with. He spoke to the neighbours and pushed the fences forward so they went straight into their garden rather than through his. It worked a lot better and no problems when he sold the house.

See this is what I thought access was for and only for. Its the same for my nans.

@FudgeFudy , me too. My deeds say the NDN only has access to the path marked.

Here's George Clarke and the wall with the window.

She is taking the piss. Can you not do as this poster has suggested? You shouldn’t have to as most normal people would at most use it once a week to take the bins out but she doesn’t sound normal.

I’d look to lock the top gate and get a gate put at the bottom and fence off a walkway no wider that the gate across the bottom of the garden, that would be wide enough to drag a bin across and that can be her access.

Might cost you a bit but be worth it to have a private garden.

Check on your deeds what type of easement it is. I very much doubt it's for all and sundry to use for delivery and anything else rather than a front door. If it's a utilities easement it's just for that and any right of way easement allows access from/to a road. You have a right to privacy and family life under the Human Rights Act android children have the right to be safe on your property. I suggest see a solicitor if you can afford it and have them draft a letter to your neighbours or contact Citizens Advice.

I'm honestly amazed at that. If in the OP's case the easement says (for example) that the neighbour may use the first six feet from her back wall as a means of access to their property, then it's a pretty fundamental tenet of English land law that the OP can do what she likes six feet and one inch from her back wall, including putting up a fence. If that's awkward for the neighbours or any visitors they may invite onto their property then that's just tough. The only reason I can think that the OP wouldn't be able to do it is if there was also a restrictive covenant saying that she couldn't, but that would be really odd. I'm genuinely interested as to the reason you weren't allowed to put up a fence on your own land that wasn't the subject of an easement...it's so strange!

This is ridiculous.
We had a house with the same set up: the only time we ever passed through the neighbours garden was to empty bins. And all the other neighbours did us the same courtesy

As per usual, there is a lot of incorrect nonsense being posted. Have you checked the wording on your neighbours deeds as well? The exact wording of the easement will tell us the rights of the dominant hereditament.

Thanks. I’m wondering about how a new P can protect him or herself. I put some suggestions (above your post) but I think you were replying at the precise moment that I replied to you.

Yes exactly that, a more extensive/intensive easement essentially

The prescriptive easement for the more extensive use leaves any new purchasers quite exposed though, doesn’t it- how can they be expected to know what the annoying neighbour is in the habit of doing? Or does the twenty year period restart with every new P? Or does the new P get a representation from the outgoing owner as to the extent of the usage?

Thanks for raising this.
I was wondering if there were a parallel with adverse possession if the neighbour had been doing this for quite some time.
Unfortunately from what you say,
an extra easement might have developed?

We have a right of way for one house over part of our land. In practice other people were using it and as deliveries have become more popular use had naturally increased.

We put a keypad access with a nine digit access code on the gate and we change the gate every four weeks or so (and we notify the neighbour of the new code every single time). It's for security purposes. Sometimes we forget to change the code for a couple of days so the new code doesn't yet work but the old code still does (if you can remember that one)

Usage has dropped dramatically...

My mother had this problem when she moved back to Scotland and bought an end of terrace house. She was assured that the way through her garden was for bins only. The people next door of course used it for everything, in particular kids and bikes.

Although the allowed use is a problem, there is also the just plain bad neighbours who enjoy annoying you.

I wonder if you could get a very heavy spring door closer, for the safety of your children and dogs, that would make it tricky for the neighbour to use regularly.

OP where is the plan with the area shaded green. Can you post this. Your solicitor ought to have sent it to you when you bought the house. Can you also show the whole of this section including the wording above this?

Checking the deeds won't necessarily suffice though. Ops neighbour could have acquired a more extensive right through long user.

I get what fudge fudy is suggesting, I'm suggesting that it is probably still not allowable by law unless agreed by both parties and drawn up officially with land registry. I have been in exactly this situation and there was no wiggle room whichever way I tried to wiggle it was a complete nightmare

I know that. In my very first post on this thread, I said to check the deeds - as have so many other posters.

And your legal qualifications are....?

No the OP will not be "well within their rights"

I think if delivery people are leaving the gate open and you have small children and dogs in the garden then you are well within your rights to refuse them access. That is what a front door is for.

@BigBilly , I think what @FudgeFudy is suggesting is putting a fence on the garden, leaving the easement accessible.

You can't seriously insist that no-one uses your front door because you don't have a hallway though m