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

I don't 'think' anything. An easement is for the property. Unless it has restrictions on it it can be used by anyone to access the property. So deliveries etc. It doesn't mean it's a public right of way, but anyone who needs to go to the property can use it, as long as they don't loiter on it or block it. I think it's ridiculous, it's not fair, but it's the law. The fact that it doesn't open into the street is irrelevant.

Look on the Garden Law forum. It's full of tales of woe (one is mine)

I think the relevant point here is that the door is not straight onto the street and there is no reason why it couldn't be used for deliveries- you seem to think an easement makes it a public right of way, it doesn't, it's specifically for the neighbour, not anyone the neighbour fancies letting use it.

It doesn't matter if she's got Longleat safari park in front of her house, the easement is the crucial matter here.
Your easement may have started for many reasons ( mine was to access the shared outside toilet) but it's the fact it exists not why.

I’m a current estates surveyor - it is called a prescriptive easement. It’s twenty years of open use, without secrecy or force.

From my perspective, if she has been using it this way for forty years and can evidence it with neighbours testimony she’d have an incredibly strong case. The easement is over the property, not person, so it isn’t relevant that you didn’t live there then.

if the front doors open onto the street it is much safer to have parcels delivered to back door and if the easement exists the neighbour ha the right to direct couriers Royal mail etc to back door including when she is not at home

That. My DD's terraced cottage is directly on the (narrow) pavement. There's actually no room for a parcel to be left without obstructing anyone passing by. My DD gets round it by having parcels delivered to pick up shops or lockers, but that's because delivery drivers could never find the entrance to the easement.

if the front doors open onto the street it is much safer to have parcels delivered to back door and if the easement exists the neighbour ha the right to direct couriers Royal mail etc to back door including when she is not at home
to protect your children and dog a self closing heavy gate ( such as used in some parks in childrens play areas) would solve problem
the other idea is to put a fence and gate at the top of your lawn / garden area the other side of the path so your kids dog can't get out regardless of whether the other gate has been shut
until OP gets both sets of deeds and reads them it is speculation

either it is a general easement in which case the neighbour her family friends couriers etc can go back anfd forth anytime for any reason without restriction
or it is a specific easement only for bins coal, garden and building materials and not a general access
unless deeds mention there is a restriction of access there is no restriction

changing the gate to a key lock and giving her one copy seems like the best option. At the very least it should stop delivery drivers

You are completely missing the point that it’s highly unlikely she has any right to stop the delivery drivers if the owner of the ROW prefers them to come round the back, and indeed to try to do so could lead to legal consequences.
The OP has confirmed she knew about the easement, she just made assumptions about the likely use and impact which have turned out to be incorrect. She didn’t check what it could be used for and unless there are very specific terms, which is unlikely, the neighbour isn’t doing anything other than quite simply exercising her legal right. It doesn’t matter how many mumsnetters think it’s weird or have never heard the like.
The advice to download the deeds and get over to the garden law forum for some properly informed input is useful.

Unfortunately it's like adverse possession, using someone else's shed would be wrong, however if you can prove that you have been using someone else's shed for a number of years (12, I think) then you win the right to use that shed. This is a really rubbish example but the principle is the same as a right of way (or easement) born out of long usage. If someone can provide evidence that they or the predecessors of their property have used the path for I think 20 years or more, then even if it's written down absolutely nowhere they win that right...such an archaic law that just shouldn't still apply (imo). So the objections would have to be evidenced. I tried with the house I had, by tracking down previous owners and occupiers and asking them if they had objected to the usage when they lived there. Unfortunately most were renters so didn't think they could object.

Many rights of way cover any visitor to the house. The easement is for the property itself not people. Unless the easement specifies who can use it and for what purpose then it applies to anyone who needs to access the house. People have lost thousands in legal cases where what they 'thought' should be the case was at odds with the actual law.

Many easements were created over 100 years ago. Easements cannot be extinguished so you are stuck with an antiquated thing that can't be changed

OP, I don't envy you, it is a really difficult situation. You bought a house, knowing that someone could access their back garden through yours, but not knowing that she used that entrance as her primary one.

It is absolutely not unreasonable to be frustrated by the situation, but you also don't seem to be dealing with a reasonable person.

I think most people with that house layout might use it daily to a couple of times a week. Having someone known to you access it (ie your neighbour) is very different to having delivery drivers and any visitors use it. Particularly when they are multiple times a day, and won't necessarily respect the same security levels like shutting the gate behind them.

I think it was mentioned before, but changing the gate to a key lock and giving her one copy seems like the best option. At the very least it should stop delivery drivers. Also the kind of key lock that doesn't require manually locking after you (as can't see her doing that). Not sure if its easy to get keys that can't be copied, but at the very least she is only going to get keys for family/close friends.

She likely won't like it, but I can't see how this would breech anything in your deeds (obviously still check them!). You need to give her access, not every Tom, Dick or Harry that visits her house. She has another perfectly suitable door for that. Good luck!

Have you looked on the Garden Law forum yet? There are retired surveyors and solicitors who post on there. Here you are getting lots of incorrect answers.

You can download the deeds now this minute from Land Registry website to end your 'what if'. You need both sets of deeds.

It works like adverse possession. Is there anything in writing that previous neighbours have tried to stop this?

I am myself a mid terrace, I’m number 3 of 5, thankfully when they build ours they put a gate in at both ends. Number 5 has their own private side access, #4 has a gate into the end of the alleyway, the rest of us all have an alleyway that runs up the side of number 1 and runs behind all our properties, we each have a gate at the bottom of our gardens for access.
If in your shoes I’d either put a small fence along their right of way with a lockable gate so you and your children/pets cross the path into a secure area. Put up a gate with a Yale lock and give her 2 keys and tell her the gate must be locked at all times for your families security, tell her the gate is often left open so if she still wants to use the side access for deliveries could she please let them in and escort them off your property.

What is the wording in the deeds? Is this your deeds or the neighbours? You need the details from both sets of deeds

The thing is, it's the norm in some places but not where the OP is - the other neighbours aren't using the easement (apparently). Maybe they come and go via the other end.

Where everyone does things the same way there is etiquette- norms within the norm, if I can put it like that. OP wouldn't have been surprised by the toing and froing, and I'm guessing that leaving a gate open with little children in the garden would not be accepted. Or maybe gardens are used differently? Not regarded as a safe outdoor room where kids can play while parents are in the kitchen? Or a private place for a nice al fresco meal? Would be interesting to hear how the flow of neighbours affects garden use in South Yorkshire.

OP needs to talk this through with someone who lives there, can see the setup and knows the history. The solicitor can spell out the letter of the law, but what happens day to day is about people finding a way to get on with each other.

It is an interesting problem though. Do let us know how you get on OP.

Similar to adverse possession.

Not in this sort of case. No one is going to declare a PRoW to the back door of a house. Unfortunately for the OP I would be very surprised if there is anything she can do to make her neighbour or her guests use her front door.

She almost certainly won't have been uslng it illegally but if she has she probably will argue that she has used it for x number of years without objection.

We don't know what's in your deeds.

If your deeds are like mine, there is no unfairness involved unless she has done something we don't know about.

Usage - it’s not about you it’s to do with the way the property has been used over a certain amount of time. Usually solictors are all over this kind of thing when you buy.

Land used for a certain number of decades as a normal public access can become a statutory public footpath with full legal protection.

Not saying it is here, but it's not as cut and dry as you think sometimes.

You're not in South Yorkshire are you @Deepblueokay because what you are describing is the norm for terraces here. I dont know a single person who lives in one and who uses their front door, everyone goes round the back.

So till @Deepblueokay gets the deeds and sees what the wording is , it’s no point saying what she can and can’t do

is that right ?

I am suprised that the estate agent or op solicitor didn’t pick this up - or maybe the estate agent as works for the seller they wouldn’t mention it ?

I did think the right of way was only for bins /house owner to use - not for delivery people - Joe public and all her family friends etc

@Anonomoso , the council won't touch it. It's not a public path.

It's not a public footpath. The council can't do anything.