Neighbours away...

[Shortperson]

There is just me and my neighbours along a drive which I own and they have a right of way over. My neighbours have two grown up kids so four cars are going up and down the drive in front of my house every day. It can get annoying, car doors slamming late at night. I’m pretty tolerant and believe in live and let live. They have complained about my old dog barking, my burglar alarm going off occasionally.

My neighbours keep themselves to themselves and only speak to me to complain.

I have fenced off the front of my house because my neighbours visitors were reversing my drive late at night t9 get out. They have a circular drive which is blocked because of their cars. This cost me £2000.00 I then had to widen the drive to access my garage, another £2000.00. Now that I’ve widen the drive this has meant my neighbours kids and visitors speed up and down my drive.

Yesterday I was doing some gardening to the side of the drive and the younger child sped past me without even noticing I was there. I had to quickly step aside or I’d been knocked over. No apology. It’s like I don’t exist yet it’s my land they drive up all day and late at night.

In the week their outside lights in their back garden were left on for three days and two nights which shine right in my bedroom.

The parents are on holiday and it has been lovely and peaceful as the kids don’t always live at home so no cars, doors slamming.

Last night a load of cars arrived 8 or 9:and a loud party started from 8 pm and didn’t stop till 2 am. I traipsed around and knocked loudly twice at 1:00 am. Party in full swing, no response. I think another neighbour at the end of their garden drove around at 2:00 pm to complain and the music stopped.

This is the first time the kids have had party whilst the parents are away and I’m not sure how to handle this. I don’t have family or partner and have no one to talk to.

I’m feeling wretched through lack of sleep but conscious it’s me and my neighbours.

My neighbours are not self aware and it’s incremental things that I’m putting up with...volume of cars, their dog getting through my front gate and pooing on the lawn, not feeling safe when I’m tending the drive - which is part my garden - now a party. The cost of fencing to feel safe, having drive widened. I do feel that I just don’t exist where my neighbours are concerned.

Is this enough to complain about and, if so should I call around and explain how I feel with dates and times? I don’t want to wind them up.

What is the best way to handle this? Do I speak to children today are wait fir the parents to come back off holiday?

I did call 101 at 1:30 pm but Police don’t get involved. The Council don’t have out of hours and if I do complain this is registered and it will go against me when I sell in a couple of years.

Where's the diagram OP?? YABU for not providing one!

Hi

I’m not good at diagrams sorry.

Think of a long main road with a 300 foot drive going off it with two houses side by side facing the drive. The drive goes past the front of my house and stops at my nieighbours two entrances in and out of the drive. My neighbours drive down the drive into their In enteance, follow a circle round at the front of their house and go out of Out entrance and then go back out past my house. The drive is about 5 metres from my front door and my neighbours out entrance is 3 metres away from my house. Their In entrance is over the far side of the main drive. So when my neighbours turn in off the main road they see a 300 metre straight run...so tempting to speed forgetting their are passing my front to their left.

I know you needed to widen the drive to get access to your drive, but could you make it narrower at another point near your house?

Hi there again

Thank you for your help and advice.

I've decided against the speed bumps as it does look like a legal minefield, especially where a right of way is existing. I've lived with this for over thirty years and there are good and bad days, depending on the social life of my neighbours.

Please can I ask another question?

Has anyone had to complete s Seller Information Form when selling their and had to declare a dispute and if so did this affect your sale? Did you have to reduce your price?

I have had three sets of neighbours in the 35 years that I have lived here. My first neighbours were retired and built a barn that they wanted to convert to a bungalow. However, they needed for me to widen my drive to get the go ahead to convert (over which my neighbour's have a right of way) which I refused, mainly because of increased traffic going past my house. My neighbour was furious with me and threatened to take me to court - which upset me no end as I'd already come through a bitter divorce. I burst into tears in front of him I was so upset. They left eventually but it left a terrible feeling of fear.
My second set of neighbours then went through a violent divorce with shouting outside their house and my neighbour tearing up and down my drive about ten times a day tending to her horses, picking kids up from school. She had three dogs that used to hang out of her bedroom window (that faces over my kitchen) that barked their head off every day when she went out. I put up with it because I sort of knew what she was going through. My last set of neighbours have been probably the better ones in the beginning but once their young children grew up, parties were a regular thing, increased traffic and noise. Again, I'm pretty tolerant and put up with it. I allowed the neighbour's children to cross my land to get to school which was abused as all the family and friends were taking advantage so I had to stop it, much to my current neighbour's annoyance.

However, I made a huge mistake of judgement about five years ago when the spectre of the barn reared it's ugly head again. There was a lot of activity in my neighbour's barn, furniture being moved in and my neighbour asking me about water and sewerage facilities. Then the wife sidled up to me talking along the lines of her eldest child moving into their barn to live...or something like that. Of course, panic set in and my first thought was how is this going to affect me? Instead of talking to my neighbours I contacted the Council (I know stupid, stupid stupid) on the advice of a close friend who became friendly with my neighbour as well. Of course, my neighbours were furious, denied any thoughts of using the barn except for hobbies. I apologised profusely and this was reluctantly accepted but things have never been the same since, sadly but not surprising. It doesn't matter what I do they are always cool towards me which is hard as I live on my own and there is only two houses. My neighbours announced to me that they are never moving and it will affect me if and when I move. So, for all those years that I put up with some pretty challenging situations on my own to make one big mistake and pay a very heavy price. We have rubbed along since then but they don't care they have their family and friends, great jobs, holidays life seems good for them and they work hard.

There is nothing I can do now. This house is my pension (I was divorced before pensions sharing. I do hope to sell or rent out one day but at the moment I'm looking after my parent who lives nearby but when she is not around then I will move on.

I am thinking of building a two story extension that will face up to my neighbour's fence (about a metre away) and will be right under their bedroom window which really should be obscured glazed. It will go to planning permission but I do intend to speak to my neighbours about and gauge their reaction. I don't think I have much to lose where they are concerned now the damage has been done. They can only voice their concerns but their house is two metres away from their fence.

I'm just wondering whether to go ahead and spend money on an extension if I might have problems selling in the future?

Again, it was my mistake for which I have apologised but I will have to declare it when selling. I kick myself every day and if I'd had a partner for support probably I'd have made a different decision.

I might be missing the point here - is your big mistake contacting the council about your neighbours' plan to use the barn without the proper permission? Surely that is your neighbours' mistake.
Are you worried about having to declare it when you sell? Why would that put off a buyer?
"My neighbour wanted to do something, council said no, neighbour was annoyed but agreed not to do it" would cover it if it had to be declared.

I will have to declare it when selling

No you won't. It wasn't an official legal dispute was it? Sounds like you just made informal enquiries? AFAIK it's just official disputes that you're obliged to declare - e.g. if you ever lodge noise complaints against them to environmental health.

Honestly, I think you should sell up now and find somewhere with simple access.

I believe that selling now will avoid a huge hassle in the future.

Thank you for help, you’ve given me a lot to think about.