Garden and fence

[Onthe1234]

Hello sorry will be slightly long. i moved in to my new house in Feb.and the weather is nice we have started clearing the garden and decided to put a new fence up all the way around as one side hasent really got one and the other side is just bushes and tress and I have 2 dc under 6 so need to be safe to let them go out and the neighbour was fine up until we said we was keeping the good side off the fence as it will stop the kids climbing on it but she wants to good side as her dog can climb but went out the other day came back to a note and she wants to know all what we've got planned for the garden and wants to see planning permission i don't need planning permission for a fence do I? As long as its not above 2m she also wants to know what else we have got planned for the garden as it is unlevel and we was going to dig so much to level it then put a patio on shes got no right as its my garden and will have nothing to do with her or is she right and I need to let her no my plans?

Does it show on your deeds who owns which fence?

I don't understand why the OP might need pp to erect a 2 m fence on her own land, even if the neighbor's garden is lower. Why does that become the OP's problem?

Maybe they are concerned that you would drain your garden into theirs if higher, or are adding decking which may need pp and overlook them. It is entirely reasonable to ask to see where fenceline will be. Tbh you are sounding quite hostile. What is the issue with the trees?

The trees block sun light on my garden went to chop them down she came running out and said there her trees but the concrete post is there for the bondry and the trees are on my side I left them up as she said her dog can get over if not but can chop then down before we get the fence up thats booked for this week and the garden will be lowered to how hers is apart form where she has got stones it will be a patio

@MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously. I'm guessing here, but if the OP's garden is 500mm higher than her neighbour's, the fence that is 2m high in her garden will be 2.5m high in her neighbour's garden.

That will make it higher than is allowed without PP.

"Put a fence up that is the same on both sides. To be honest I’ve never heard of a fence with good and bad sides (just had to google) There are plenty of fences with two “good” sides. My fence has two good sides. My side is exactly the same as my neighbours, before that I grew up in a house that didn’t have a fence and to be honest I’ve really taken any notice of fences.

At my other house I dint own any off the fences and I had the bad side on all and it dint bother me but if I'm paying for the fence I dont want the bad side on one half

I have never understood this good side nonsense. What would you spend a fortune erecting a fence and look at the back of it and fence posts? I have the good side all round me house and drive. It’s a little in form The boundary

I dont own my house its council and the concrete posts are there so we no whos garden is who she made me quite aware of that from the first time I spoke to her about it I carnt see what the problem is if the posts are on my side off that concrete and its in my tenancy I am aloued to put a fence up 2m high I just carnt mess with the bondrey witch I dont want to do anyway just want a safe place for the kids to play on

I think telling her you're having the good side was a bit of a mistake. Better to have a chat because she has a genuine request. Is there a fence at the moment? Would be a bit strange for you to own all of the fences. Or are you just going to put what you want on your boundary? That is bound to cause issues if you're not sensitive because the whole idea of garden boundaries being shared is that neighbours have some say over their gardens. If you impose something on everyone it's not going to end well.

Our boundaries and fences are all shared, our neighbour wanted a new fence and knocked on our door on a Friday night asking for £1200 towards our half for a fence on the Monday. He told us even if we didn't agree they'd put whatever fence they wanted up anyway (before I even got chance to speak!) In the end it was sort of fine and we like the fence we've got, didn't get the good side though (or were even asked) lost all respect for the neighbours, don't even like taking their parcels anymore because I can't stand them.

So although you can do what you want I'm not sure that you should. Surely having a decent neighbour is better than a fence? Because even with a few bits of wood up you can still hear and see them!

Ah well if she knows it's a council property then it's tricky. She might just complain to the council. Even if you're in the right could be a headache for you. Why not just give her the good side on one side for a financial contribution and if she can't then that's her choice.

We did speak about it the other week got people round for quotes and booked one in i said I would let her know when the fence is going up I have let her no and shes not happy about it there is sort off a fence on her side that looks a mess and is all green wire hold up with wood that dropping to peaces and two fence panels at the bottem bit near the house I would up load a pic but it won't let me

OP, if you are planning on cutting down trees, lowering your garden AND paving it, where will all the rain water that is currently soaked up by your garden go?

Paving a previously unpaved area is very environmentally unfriendly and adds massively to water run-off. That's why there are now strict rules about paving front gardens to create parking spaces. It was causing roads to flood, because the storm drains couldn't cope with the increased amount of water run-off.

You also need to bear in mind that trees take up a lot of water, whihc will have to go somewhere else if you chop that tree down. Someone near where my friend lived cut down some trees at the bottom of their garden and, after heavy rainfall, many of the back gardens of the houses in the street that ran along the back were flooded, some so badly that the water got into the houses. The insurance claim went well into six figures. Admittedly, they were 6 mature trees and the gardens behind were 6' or so lower than the garden where the trees were, so it was a much bigger job than you're proposing, but you need to be sure that you've taken full account of the impact of the work you're proposing.

And when you say the trees are in your garden, this is only the case if the whole of the trunk is on your side of the boundary. Are you sure that the post you're talking about was originally a fence post, and not up for a washing line or some other purpose? Plus you can't really judge where the boundary is from one post, as sometimes gardens are wider at one end than at the other, so the boundary line isn't perpendicular to the gardens.

This sounds like a significant piece of work and, given that your neighbour appears to be unhappy about it, I would at least get a proper survey done by a landscape architect before proceeding, check out exactly where your boundary lies and who is responsible for which boundary.

I think this sounds like a significant project and you don't seem to have thought through all the implications of what you're proposing. When my BIL terraced his sloping garden and laid a large terrace at the top, plus felled 2 trees because of disease, he had to put in some serious flood mitigation measures, including digging a soakaway.

If you don't own the property, be prepared for her to complain to your landlord. You may be told to put it back to how it was at your cost.

Isnt the ‘good’ side usually facing outwards because all the fixings are usually on the ‘bad’ side. I.e otherwise you’d need access to your neighbour’s property to install/maintain it.

There is 4 off theese posts that go all one side off and 4 on the other side not washing line posts we have already took them out as was in a silly place too off steps where u need to get on the garden and we not paving all off it just enough for a table and putting the excess soil at the top with a step upto it with kids swings and slide and that on the grass and the full trees are on my side they are small trees more like bushes then trees

What type of trees are they? I'm not sure about councils, but I can't imagine many landlords being happy with you cutting them down. Then there's the effect on wildlife, the environment, flood-prevention etc.

If it's a council house, OP, I'd strongly advise you to speak to your housing officer before you proceed.

Altering the ground level is a bit of a biggy, really, and they may well have a policy that protects mature trees. Putting down more than a few slabs has implications too.

In my previous job, I used to work closely with the council's housing officers, and I know that for something like this they would insist that you used an approved contractor. Is there anything in your tenancy agreement about landscaping and alterations to gardens?

No nothing in tenancy about garden just to keep it clean and tidy and hedges trimmed and at my other house I had work done there and nothing got saod when the inspector camr garden is.not going complete flat to the floor there will still be soil under the patio as its all uneven and I have steps to get to there its just taking abit off soil and moving it up the garden abit as top is alot higher then the bottem and its the bottem we are having the patio on it

Blimey, this gets more complicated with every post.

How are you proposing to retain the "excess soil" that you will be "putting" at the top of the garden? How much higher will it be than it is now? What will the fall of the slope be?

And how will raising one end of your garden impact on the neighbour whose garden is lower than yours?

These are all things that you need to have thought through before you start. If I was your neighbour and you started moving earth and landscaping, I'd be on to the council in no time asking them to check that all the things I've mentioned had been addressed and that the work was being done by qualified contractors with decent third party laibility insurance.

And it's really not neighbourly to just tell your neighbour what you're doing. It's much better for neighbour relations to have a chat about your need for a safe place for your children to play vs her right not to be adversely impacted by what you do, and find a way of achieving a solution that is agreeable to you both.

I can see this turning into another "rainypuddles" saga and going on for years.

The soil will be retaind with wood retainers with two steps in the middle leading up to it and the top off the garden won't be lower then hers hers is.lower and the bottem.and higher at the top like mine will be so won't affect her at all and yes will be proper contractors in doing the work

You need to know who owns the boundary and the trees. You cant change a boundary you dont own (or your landlord doesnt) and you cant chop trees down on someone elses land. Otherwise, you can put a fence up on a boundary you own or within your side of the boundary and she doesn't get a say unless it's over 2m

I own all 3 boundary fences in my garden and I put the good side facing in. I’m not paying loads for fences to get one line of good side and two lines of the bad side.

You can fence any side of your garden you want as long as it’s not over the boundary and you don’t damage other peoples property.

I would email your housing office with the plans, and just get confirmation from them first.

Your garden sounds a bit like mine, OP. The first part of the garden is about waist high when you're at house level and has steps going up. That bit is all level, then there are more steps and the next part slopes up to the fence at the back. It rises approx 1.5m in approx 10m, so the slope has a 15% incline. Both levels are mainly grass, with 2 flower beds and shrubs where the two levels meet.

I have a friend who is a landscape gardener. He warned me never to get rid of the beds in the middle or pave the top bit as the water would just pour down and waterlog the lawn. I wanted to level the top bit and builder BIL and discussed this on and off for years. It would have been a huge undertaking, cost several thousand and even if I was prepared to pay for it, the thought of all the mess and upheaval made me lose the will to live.

We're on chalk, which is very free draining, so I was a bit that water runoff would be an issue. If you're on clay or a loamy soil type, it will be much more of a problem.

Is ndn a tenant or owner/occupier? How high is the boundary currently?