Neighbours New Tree house

[Silvafoxa]

Hi,

Just some background. I have DC and we are friendly with neighbours. We live in a semi rural area but our garden is (was) completely private and we enjoy that! especially with lockdown.
There are no other neighbours in close proximity.

So our neighbours started work on a treehouse that is approx 10ft + in a tree at the back of their garden. Our garden and house wraps around the back of the garden.It is at the very bottom of their garden. The tree house is 5ft from out kitchen window and looks directly into it.

It’s all we now see looking out our kitchen window and completely dominates our view (I have shrubs and planting but nowhere nr 15ft to cover).

It also now blocks all light into kitchen. It’s a big shed on stilts with overlooking windows. With added fairy lights. It use to be pitch black outside our window snd it’s lit up in the evenings.

Since it’s been erected random adults have been up and looking through into our house (maybe unintentionally but it’s really not nice).

I spoke to neighbour who said it’s for children and to lighten up. They were very dismissive and said it’s staying.

I just think come summer it’s going to be hell with kids in there so close to our kitchen and patio. They didn’t put it nr their house probably for the same reasons I do not want it so close to mine.

Am I being miserable, it’s such an eyesore ?
Should I report to the council ?

What a stupid place to put a massive treehouse that's at a height of 12-15 feet, and clearly in a position where anyone in it can gawp into their next-door neighbours garden and windows. (And only 5 or 6 feet away from the neighbours windows too. WTF?!) So obnoxious and entitled and bloody rude.

I would definitely report this to the council @Silvafoxa As a few posters have said, these people clearly don't give a flying fuck about you or your family, OR your right to quiet enjoyment. So you can return the favour, and report them with gusto!

If the council do nothing about it (though I'm sure they will,) then I'd get a 15 foot fence built at the back (just the bit where the treehouse is,) to block the view of these entitled weirdos.

@Ohmybod

Whilst I sympathise with you for having dick neighbours who are behaving very selfishly…I do think you have to own the fact that you bought a property with a tree placed very near the kitchen window. The potential was there…

Are you having a laugh?

So nobody should ever buy a property with a tree that is closer than 10 feet away from their house, in case a neighbour puts a massive fuck-off tree house in it, that faces directly into their windows?

Just when I thought I'd read everything on here. That really is peak mumsnet batshittery.

There is no way that they would get planning permission for such a structure and they know it. As PPs have said, the relationship with them has gone sour as they have caused this distress. You must report it. They can apply for retrospective, but won't get it. It will affect your property for resale and is possibly a fire hazard.

I think your only option is to report it to the council, because it sounds as though your neighbours will make your life hell in the summer. It might be meant for the kids, but it won’t be long before it dawns on them that it’ll be fun for the adults too during summer BBQ frivolity !! As others have said, your relationship with your neighbour is probably already affected so no point in worrying about them finding out. You will then have an opportunity to object, so make sure you include all the relevant points. The structure is directly overlooking your property and invading your privacy, it’s also blocking the light. You don’t say if you own or rent, but if you own and decided to sell on, I would imagine this would be an issue for most buyers. You’re entitled to the enjoyment of your own property and the council also have to consider whether the structure is hampering this. Also find out if there are any local bylaws which prohibit tree houses or other similar structures. Sometimes housing developments are subject to covenants placed by the builder, which prohibit certain things, so it’s worth making enquiries.

@BoredZelda

A real spate of spying neighbours at the moment. As you’re new to Mumsnet, you might not be aware you can search for similar threads to see if you can find advice given on all those other ones.

And then get moaned at for resurrecting a Zombie thread if there's more questions

@Movinghouseatlast

This is so difficult- they are horribly selfish and awful but if you report it then your relationship will never recover.

You need to weigh up the options very carefully before you do anything. I had an awful neighbour dispute that honestly nearly killed me. The man was an absolute utter cunt. We ended up moving from what I had always thought was my forever home as it was impossible to stay living near someone who had so little respect for us.

Things you might be able to do to block it out are very mature ( and expensive) bamboo,extremely tall fence or a sail thing as suggested above.

So the OP has to spend money?

No. The council has to get them to take it down.

And the relationship has already gone

Thanks everyone. The reason why i posted this as I felt so alone with it.

I wouldn’t take it out on the children. They would have no concept of their parents selfishness.

I think I’ll look up all the local planning laws and make a case. But I imagine they will just get retrospective planning. They once told me they are “in” with the planning officers as a family member works for them (they had an extension a few yrs ago).

Funnily enough, I wanted to get skylights at the back of my property but felt it would overlook them so never went ahead. Consideration does not flow both ways it seem.

You've got some great support from treehousedestroyer there.

Personally, the lights wouldn't bother me, but noise and people peering into my property obviously would.

If the council don't help, I'd be positioning a smoky barbecue beneath its stupid window, a trampoline as close to their house as I could get it, and smearing the fairy lights with something squirrels find delicious.

@BoredZelda

A real spate of spying neighbours at the moment. As you’re new to Mumsnet, you might not be aware you can search for similar threads to see if you can find advice given on all those other ones.

What a silly post. So should everyone (from now on) just try and hunt for a thread on mumsnet, from 6 months ago, a year ago, 2 years ago, 5 years ago etc, to see if they can find some advice on there for their problem? On MANY occasions, the law and rules will have changed, and the situation will very likely be different.

Until mumsnet tells people to stop posting new threads on something, and to just get the advice from a thread that was posted 2 or 3 years ago, people are free to start as many threads as they wish, as often as they wish, and about anything they wish. Even if the subject was discussed just a week ago, there's still (as I said,) a strong chance that the details/info will be different.

@Silvafoxa

Thanks everyone. The reason why i posted this as I felt so alone with it.

I wouldn’t take it out on the children. They would have no concept of their parents selfishness.

I think I’ll look up all the local planning laws and make a case. But I imagine they will just get retrospective planning. They once told me they are “in” with the planning officers as a family member works for them (they had an extension a few yrs ago).

Funnily enough, I wanted to get skylights at the back of my property but felt it would overlook them so never went ahead. Consideration does not flow both ways it seem.

If they really think they can bend planning laws, then copy in your local councillor to the email you send to the enforcement team. This will keep the matter under scrutiny.

@PurpleRainlnTheSky your comment is disproportionate as that’s not what I said at all. I am suggesting that the OP accepts that there was always a risk this would happen (doesn’t make it right) because that will help her manage her expectations with regards to outcomes. I am not saying she accepts the treehouse is there, but the tree was there when she bought the place and maybe even the young family…it’s not a huge leap to think perhaps one day it might be put to use as a treehouse? Would you not ask yourself this question if viewing a property with a tree looming so close but not on your property?

@Ohmybod

Whilst I sympathise with you for having dick neighbours who are behaving very selfishly…I do think you have to own the fact that you bought a property with a tree placed very near the kitchen window. The potential was there….not that that excuses the way the neighbours are acting.

How old are the kids and how bad will it be to hear them playing up there? Are they normally badly behaved/antisocial? If not then I would suggest you stop worrying about what might happen this summer. The dread and worry about what you don't know is pointless and will put you on edge.

Is there any wildlife in your garden or the tree that would be disturbed by the fairy lights? It might sound desperate or nitpicky but if I genuinely thought some little birds were being disturbed from their routine by glowing fairy lights, I’d say something.

So no one should buy a house near trees now because you should factor in that neighbours could be selfish wankers and build a tree house without PP? Nobody knows how 'bad it could be' it shouldn't be there so there's no point in speculating It doesn't matter how well behaved their children are. Those neighbours could move tomorrow and leave you with a bigger problem , they could have friends who are not so well behaved too It's an invasion of her privacy, blocks her light and most probably illegal but hey, she should have thought it through I despair... 🙄

Treehouse destroyer has useful stuff to quote.

Do t bother talking about your mental health, this is not a material planning consideration.

I think I’ll look up all the local planning laws and make a case. But I imagine they will just get retrospective planning. They once told me they are “in” with the planning officers as a family member works for them (they had an extension a few yrs ago).

I would relay the fact that this has been said to the planning department as part of your application for them to deal with the treehouse. In reality, I don’t think it matters who they know in the planning office, they’re just trying to intimidate you - from your description it sounds as though it’s clearly illegal and probably also a fire hazard.

Definitely agree with this. After the case officer initially messed up their decision so asked for my email setting out the law to be copied to their Legal Department. So you could always do this if you have no joy. Their lawyers will set them straight too, and they’d find it hard to go against legal advice.

Just so you know, you do also have the right to appeal decisions externally, and you could even threaten to apply to judicially review the Council’s decision making on the grounds of illegality if you suspected a conflict of interest. Only costs a couple of hundred pounds to make the application but the Council would probably panic and cave at such action.

My last post was was meant to reply to @MsAgnesDiPesto saying that I definitely agree with copying in your Councillor if you suspect they may have a family member working there.

Buy one of these and get it put up attached to 2 poles so that neighbours cannot see in your window - obviously with the 'lovely view' facing you!

www.lightinthebox.com/en/p/beautiful-natural-forest-print-big-wall-tapestry-sea-view-hippie-wall-tapestry-bohemian-wall-tapestry-mandala-wall-decoration_p8128249.html?currency=GBP&litb_from=paid_adwords_shopping&sku=1_227%7C160_36651&country_code=gb&utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=cpc&adword_mt=&adword_ct=418449788792&adword_kw=&adword_pos=&adword_pl=&adword_net=u&adword_tar=&adw_src_id=3516490533_9346147906_98687019990_pla-613284782125&gclid=Cj0KCQiA8vSOBhCkARIsAGdp6RSoQUvQTUpMVNExiNB7coQsgJBhyYiXSUg3c_wXdUIb1WRMrZ5LDL8aAkHUEALw_wcB

[quote Ohmybod]@PurpleRainlnTheSky your comment is disproportionate as that’s not what I said at all. I am suggesting that the OP accepts that there was always a risk this would happen (doesn’t make it right) because that will help her manage her expectations with regards to outcomes. I am not saying she accepts the treehouse is there, but the tree was there when she bought the place and maybe even the young family…it’s not a huge leap to think perhaps one day it might be put to use as a treehouse? Would you not ask yourself this question if viewing a property with a tree looming so close but not on your property?[/quote]
I have two large trees on the boundary and my first thought on buying our house wasn’t future tree houses !! They’re subject to planning permission, local covenants, and in some cases building consent. If someone is daft or arrogant enough to build one of the size the OP’s neighbour has, without permission, they deserve everything they get.

Please report , my neighbours are the same , total unreasonable twats who think nothing of making their neghbours life hell with screaming kids and trampolines poorly positioned.
I can recommend bamboo as well , some is very fast growing !

I wouldn’t care if they knew it was me. It’s a breach in planning, report

Contact your councillor and ask them to make reps to planning officers. That way you can keep your anonymity.

@twominutesmore

One of my friends experienced similar with a trampoline. One night it was inexplicably set on fire.

Love this

@Silvafoxa

Thanks everyone. The reason why i posted this as I felt so alone with it.

I wouldn’t take it out on the children. They would have no concept of their parents selfishness.

I think I’ll look up all the local planning laws and make a case. But I imagine they will just get retrospective planning. They once told me they are “in” with the planning officers as a family member works for them (they had an extension a few yrs ago).

Funnily enough, I wanted to get skylights at the back of my property but felt it would overlook them so never went ahead. Consideration does not flow both ways it seem.

If they have a family member working there I would insist they have nothing to do with this application

They may not get retrospective planning as your privacy and right to it is impacted badly I would say

If there is a tpo contact that department as well.