Neighbours have raised their garden and now overlooks ours!

[Higgs789]

Our row of new build houses have gardens that slope away from the house. Our neighbours have recently just levelled their garden by building decking that is level with the house, which means by the end of the garden they’re torso height above the fence. Not only that but they’ve built a pergola at the end of the garden and put a hot tub. This pretty much touches our boundary fence and means they can easily see into our garden when they use it. They said they would put trellis to screen but instead they’ve put fairy lights all over it! I think they need planning permission to raise the level that much but we’re going insane from the lights and the noise of the hot tub. I’m tempted to call the planning office but I don’t know if I’m being unreasonable? HELP

I can vouch for plastic bags of manure on the boundary. My late DGM did this when neighbours stepped into her garden and borrowed her chairs one night.

The sunnier it is the more it smells.

Given the decking is raised enough for the fence to be torso height I can't see any other possibility?

Really? She never said how high the fence was in the first place.

Pleached trees on the border. We have pleached Laurel. Grows quickly and provides great privacy. We did it to block out a trampoline on our border where the kids were jumping up to look over the fence.

@Bluntness100

Given the decking is raised enough for the fence to be torso height I can't see any other possibility?

Really? She never said how high the fence was in the first place.

OP says "Our neighbours have recently just levelled their garden by building decking that is level with the house, which means by the end of the garden they’re torso height above the fence"

Gosh it sounds like you have CFs for neighbours.
When we enquired about planning permission for decked area, we were told it could be no more than 30cm from lowest point of the house. From your back door- Does your slope go up or down?

My friends had this exact thing happen. Planning made them demolish most of the decking.

I had to get planning permission to raise my patio by just 300mm. Google it and you will see what I am talking about.

It all depends. If it’s technically not 30cm higher than the bottom of the house they haven’t done anything wrong. The house level to deck level is what matters here.

They do need planning for that. I was refused planning to have back door steps that enabled me to look into next doors garden, I had to put them round the side of the house and put a new door in the wall!!!

Call your local planning office and ask to speak to someone regarding policy or enforcement. I think if you tell them the address, they can tell you if planning permission was sought and advise on how to take matters further. Not everyone seeks planning permission, even if they know they were meant to. They rely on the fact their neighbours won't dob them in, which seems a bit silly and risky to me if something's been done that could annoy them.

@guffaux

you can get noise barrier fencing, install it as high as allowed and you could raise a sail higher than the fence where they can see you, ostensibly for shade, but it will provide privacy, and as its 'temporary', no planning issues.

If you have a large garden, make 'rooms', the one next to the hot tub can be a veggie garden/composting area, couple of fish heads could fester nicely for them- or there's a plant that has a natural cat pee stink- cant recall the name but someone will know...

ribes sanguineum? Used to have some, can't remember if you need to rub the leaves or if it just smells on its own.

Have you tried the direct approach.
Walk into the Garden and tell them as they sit there, that as they promised to screen themselves from view, when will they be doing this?
As you don't really want to go to the council if they are doing it in the next week or so.

OP says "Our neighbours have recently just levelled their garden by building decking that is level with the house, which means by the end of the garden they’re torso height above the fence

I’m fully Aware of what she wrote, I’m literate . And so? Still doesn’t mean it’s above the legally permitted levels.

There are planning rules on raising ground level

Decking or any ground levelling is 30cm only and this is strictly enforced.

We had some neighbours up the road who did really high decking. The council made them apply for retrospective consent, then it was refused. Took a while but the council eventually enforced it and it's gone now.

I would encourage foxes to move in under their decking.

Oh how I feel your pain!
Our end of garden neighbours cut down a row of mature trees and built a pergola there too - snd he sits on it like some great ape - I hate it. But be careful if you complain as you’ll have to declare the dispute when you sell.
We’re trying to sell ours now, it’s only just gone on so only one view - she loved the house but didn’t like the garden being overlooked. I had to agree! I would put in your own trellis snd some quick climbers and a coupe of slim quick growing conifer type trees.
The first two are winter pics before he butchered the trees, the next now.
The trees were actually ours too - he had no right to do it but that’s a whole new thread.

Speak to the planning office and your local councillors. Encourage other affected neighbours to do the same. I remember being roped in to have a look at someone's garden where the neighbours had done similar.

If your garden is big enough plant a Holm Oak near their hot tub. They are sort of evergreen but in the spring they drop loads of leaves that are full of brown tannin. Lovely in a hot tub!

@Lunaduckdrop

If your garden is big enough plant a Holm Oak near their hot tub. They are sort of evergreen but in the spring they drop loads of leaves that are full of brown tannin. Lovely in a hot tub!

Love this😂

You'll just end up with rats

*How off the ground is the decking?

What's under it?*

Rats

www.amazon.co.uk/STV-International-STV334-Yellow-7-5x7-5x20/dp/B004OJBGYC/ref=sr_1_6?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

stinky fly trap..

@Theunamedcat

Buy a trampoline and invite children to play on it

This absolutely this. Preferably second hand with squeaky springs. Bonus points for chatty, curious children who'd love to stare and ask unending questions or singing children.