New neighbour using my private garden...

[Wattyyyy]

...

Placemarking!!!!! The cheek of them!!!!

Passion fruit plants make an attractive addition to any garden, and are surprisingly easy to grow. You do need to make sure they're well supported though. I find that a steel pole vertically concreted into the ground with a small piece of trellis on provides ample support while withstanding all the weather that the UK can throw at it. Do you have anywhere suitable in your garden for this?

MrsS, part of me wonders if threads are true sometimes but clearly there really are CFs out there. Access through their bathroom is bonkers, and even if it had been a communal garden commandeering it with a big paddling pool would still have been unreasonable!

I imagine OP is round there now, showing builders the deeds.

A friend of mine had a house whose back windows overlooked a neighbours garden. She had to ask permission days in advance to gain access to clean her windows.

I agree with the previous poster who said you should insist on a full reversal back to original window size. I would settle for nothing less than this.

Isn't it more building regs than planning though?

Timeflies

I imagine it's planning as they aren't allowed to do this as stated by op. Building regs are there to make sure the work complies, not whether or not the work is allowed. Or at least that's my understanding.

Have you seen the neighbours yet, or have your other neighbours encountered them?

Just seems like such a deeply weird thing to do!

I'd suggest planting some nice, very spiky bushes all along your garden boundary at that wall. Who wants a fence when you can create such a lovely garden feature?

A fish pond right in front of new doors would look good perhaps?

I am curious to hear how the neighbours react.

The threads on here are getting ridiculous at the moment.

Cheeky bastard neighbours everywhere!

Go and speak to them nicely and explain its your garden and they have no right to use it or access it.

If they object, then phone the council. And yes to getting their builders in to clear up the bloody mess.

The cheek of some people!

Blimey. That's cheeky.

I would be on the phone to the council asap!! Surely they can't be expecting to just appropriate your garden?

I would imagine they will try to pull,
"we had agreed this with the previous owners".

Cheeky fuckers! I hope they're extremely apologetic when you go to speak with them.

OMG.

Okay following the advice from MN I went out and started taking photos of the mess in my garden and the new door.

Just as I was going back inside I heard people coming in next door. Lo and behold it's the builders (about 6 of them, which seems excessive but may explain how it was done so bloody quickly!!)

Anyway I waited till I heard them at the back and went out CALMLY to explain the situation. I made them aware that this was a private garden for my flat only and asked what the neighbours were planning on doing etc etc.

The older one starts on at me about how they have just been employed by the owner, nothing to do with them etc. So I explained that I'd taken pictures of everything and would be contacting the planning dept for advice.

He became very agitated, started ripping of the stickers on the door (I presume because they had his company name on them) told me it's "just a door, there was a window there any way."

Then they all buggered off!!!!

WTF?? I have googled the company name and it seems to be a very small one man and a van type thing which is based 100 miles away from where we actually live! I don't know what to think, I am awaiting the neighbours return.

Also for those asking yes it is a listed building and the only way the builders could have accessed my garden was to climb through the now long gone window. I would post pics but don't want to completely out myself so I will try to do a diagram!!

😂😂😂😂

YAY! you totally scared them off! Brilliant work!

Totally nuts that they were trying to remove the stickers though! I mean whatever else it presumably isn't their job to check planning permission is sorted is it?

I can picture the layout, it's similar to mine. I have patio doors that open on to the garden, and the garden is mine alone. Someone tried to suggest it was communal and got told! Can't have a communal garden with no communal access and they're not using my doors

"...In the end, we decided that would probably be more hassle for us than them, so just built a massive ferret run right in front of it instead...."

Was it the run that was massive or the ferrets, @flowersonthepiano? Please say it was the ferrets - I am picturing a ferret the size of a labrador and giggling at the thought.

@Wattyyyy - I am fuming on your behalf (and picturing massive ferrets - because I can multitask). When the builders get back, I'd tell them to get their rubbish and rubble out of your garden, and that they have no permission to set foot in it again. Then talk to the neighbours. They clearly think they have the right to use the garden, and need putting straight forthwith!

Living through you OP.
There are some cheeky f... in my life who can do with some fixing and I haven't got the means to do so.