Neighbouring treehouse

[Spooked7]

I will append a diagram if it helps, but AIBU to ask neighbouring family to take down large wooden treehouse that sits above the level of our fence and dominates the view?
I don’t know the neighbours and don’t want to start a dispute with them, especially as we only recently moved in. However, we had no idea there was a treehouse overlooking our garden. It was disguised by overgrowing trees as the previous owner of our house had passed away over a year before we viewed the house...and the trees hadn’t been cut back for a while. After a few days living here we started to see heads of small boys popping through the trees about 4 feet above our fence. I still didn’t realise it was a treehouse. Then a month later they employed a tree surgeon to cut back the trees as they were overhanging our (small) garden and blocking light from getting in. This exposed the entire, very large, wooden treehouse. It is a platform about 5.5ft off the ground, with a see-through fence panel about another 3 ft in height around its edge. The whole structure sits above the level of our fence. It has some bits of camouflage netting and a sheet of canvas loosely attached, that flap and wave in the wind. It is both intrusive and unsightly and I have no idea what to do about it without angering the neighbours. I have had advice from the council who said they will happily go round and investigate anonymously whether they should have sought planning permission for it, but it would be completely obvious that we instigated it, as it doesn’t really affect anyone else. I know that if/when we decide to sell our house this treehouse will put a lot of people off. It dominates our very small garden.

Has anyone managed to resolve a similar issue without it leading to a dispute?

I wouldn’t be too worried about offending the neighbours by asking them to screen it or move it. They must not really care about their neighbours to plonk something like that look over their garden, ruining your privacy.

No need to be nasty about it of course but it’s totally reasonable to do what you can about this.

tbh your being unreasonable, you failed to look properly when you bought the house, overgrown or not, now your demanding the neighbours remove their kids treehouse..

I know my answer if i was your neighbour and you came over having only just moved in giving me demands... :(

either grow something higher than the treehouse or put up screening.

Plant something that will screen it. I don't know what grows well in GB, but here Arborvitaes or Leyland cypress trees grow tall, dense and QUICKLY. You might have to put up with it for a little while, but those trees will outgrow the tree house within 2 years.

Until then, consider telling the council about the issue, and ask permission to put up a temporary extension to the top of your fence, until the trees grow in. Or the boys grow up. LOL, my idea is that the council may well say, "Oh, that's against regulations! We'll have them take it down!" Should the neighbor then say something snarky, tell them that you NEVER asked for it be removed, you only sought to add a privacy extension to the top of the back wall until your landscaping grows in.

The nimbyism on this thread is hilarious.

@Mummadeeze

I know this isn’t helpful but I don’t understand why it matters if their children can see you in your garden.

What absolute bollocks.

Of course you can understand why people might want privacy while they relax in their garden and not want next door's children gawping at them over the fence.

It may cause difficulties complaining but you are not living next to them. in a few years that tree house will become redundant. Kids are only kids for so long.

Op did you not view the garden from the bedroom window prior to buying it?

@Nanny0gg

I know you have to declare disputes when selling, but the OP has only just moved.

Why should she have to pussyfoot and not upset the neighbour when they clearly didn't give a rat's arse about anyone else?

Exactly. I'd go straight to council.

Lockdown is no reason to tolerate this intrusive bullshit.

@DingDongDenny

YABU if the treehouse has to be taken down the children are going to be very upset

Of course it's fine if the OP can't enjoy her garden, doesn't have any privacy in her kitchen and has to look at that eyesore all the time, as long as the poor children aren't upset

I know. Entitleparents ride again.

I'd check with the council whether it breaks regulations.
I'd ask neighbour to screen it as now the tree is cut back it is intrusive, taking a photo with you.
I'd plant something to screen it in the future - you could have a couple of attractive trees there - maybe another eucalyptus if they are evergreen and a flowering cherry/ holly (you can buy quite big specimens these days to get off to a good start), maple for autumn colour.

Eucalyptus are known as widow-makers in Australia so you were wise to get the branch removed.

You need planning to raise floor level more than a foot. This applies to decks as well so if the floor of the treehouse is more than 1 foot off the ground they needed planning. I personally would go round or invite them round to look. Uncomfortable feeling being overlooked.

The only thing I don't understand is that there are many swing sets with playhouse-on-stilts garden toys that are as high as a treehouse. Would these also need PP?

If this was an extension or a large garden building that had been put up without planning permission, everyone would be up in arms about CF neighbours ignoring the law and acting entitled.

For some bizzare reason, because it's a children's play thing, people are implying that the OP is being unreasonable for wanting some privacy in her house and garden!

I've been involved in planning for over 30 years - that needs PP. I agree with the other planner on this thread, PP is unlikely to be granted because of the impact on the neighbour.

I also doubt that the treehouse was there in February when the OP viewed the property. It doesn't look weathered enough. I think it was stuck up over the summer.

I don't believe that reporting an unauthorised structure to the Council would count as a neighbour dispute either.

Why should the OP have to put up with the cost of screening an unauthorised structure? Report to the Council with photos.

It was very selfish of your neighbours to erect something that overlooked the next door garden. Consult your local garden centre for fast growing plants that could be put in a tub. I would be mortified to be overlooked like that.

Another one here voting that almost certainly wasn't there when you viewed the house in February.

I'm wondering if the tree surgeon went a bit rouge and removed more than they expected - they may be hoping new growth over spring/summer will hide it again.

Either way I think you're doing the right thing having a polite word first, but I would be prepared to go down the route of having the council remove it for lack of planning permission if it comes to it.

This thread wins the medal for MN's Most Idiotic Comments Combined.

Particularly like this one, gold star

*Too bad.

You should not have cut down the trees then.*

Wow I would be livid after finding that behind my new house. Hopefully they will be reasonable people once they see your photos

If you go to the council all they may do is request that the neighbours apply for retrospective planning permission. You would then have the opportunity to object, but there is no guarantee they will get told to tear it down. Several people where we live have deliberately built things/altered their houses without planning to basically try their luck. In both instances the council granted retrospective permission when neighbours alerted them. One was an unsightly large canopy structure attached to the back of a house, another was very tall fencing being installed next to a pavement. Both of these things could have potentially been rejected for various reasons, but the fact they are in-situ meant the council was perhaps more lenient when considering permission.

Personally I would plant cherry laurel along the back fence. It grows approx 2-3 foot a year. We planted some in our garden 3 years ago to screen the view of our neighbours messy garden from our upstairs windows. It is now approx 4 foot about the fence and works perfectly. It is evergreen and can be cut very shallow so it doesn't encroach on your garden too much. I think you can even get companies who will plant you a ready made hedge so there is even less time to wait for it to grow.

It all comes down to whether you can face the hassle of a difficult neighbour relationship. Our neighbours are messy but generally friendly enough, so we decided just to go with screening and keep them on side.

@Ginburee
Itbis difficult, but the people you bought from would have been aware of the structure being built. The owners probably think you were aware of it when you moved in.

It was a probate sale. The owner had passed away the previous year. The house we bought had been empty for over a year when we moved in.

I have investigated putting a trellis on top of our fence, but anything over 2m in height (total) would require me to get planning permission. My existing fence is about 1.7m. The top of their "treehouse" is probably 2.5m and to screen off the children's heads I would need a fence that's 3m tall. So, unlikely to get planning permission for that considering the whole row of neighbouring fences are 1.7m high.

@Mummadeeze
I know this isn’t helpful but I don’t understand why it matters if their children can see you in your garden.

It isn't that they can "see" into our garden. It feels and sounds as if they are actually "in" our garden. They are right there...almost our entire view. Two large boys playing above our fence. And when they are older boys, they'll have all their mates hanging out in the treehouse (as other pps have pointed out). But the major issue is that if we come to sell the house, who in their right mind would want to buy it knowing that the neighbours have a viewing platform into our (very small) garden? If it was a huge garden and it overlooked part of it then it absolutely wouldn't be a problem, but it spans half of our garden and is right in the middle, so there's no avoiding it, or sitting anywhere our of its view.

@DingDongDenny
YABU if the treehouse has to be taken down the children are going to be very upset

They have a huge garden with the biggest trampoline I have ever seen. They could easily buy a wooden turret/slide combo and situate it more than a foot from my fence.

@PepsiMaxCherry
Op did you not view the garden from the bedroom window prior to buying it?

Are you serious? Did you see the "before" photo I posted? The trees are taller than our house. How could I magically see what was hiding behind them from the bedroom window?

Plant a Laurel hedge OP, they grow very fast and are evergreen. There is one about 15feet high close to us.

@Barney60
i think id buy something prickly tall huge even, and plant directly in front of platform. You can get shrubs trees pre grown for around £300-£500 + from online garden centres. Problem solved without even speaking to neighbours.

It would need to grow 3m in height to screen this off. ANyway, we have decking in front of the fence, so will need to remove our decking in order to plant anything other than potted plants.

I don't think yabu at all. Perhaps print out the photos to show the difference to the neighbours. There is no way I'd ever build a tree house looking into a neighbours garden.