to report neighbour's bin store?

[Passthegin99]

My house is end terrace and next door's front garden shares a fence with our back boundary. I don't know who the fence belongs to. Next door has been a state for years but they've started smartening it up a bit recently and have made their front garden into a drive (ignoring the fact they don't have a dropped kerb but never mind). All fine except they've now built a whopping great bin store up against the shared boundary which is essentially a massive, stable, platform for would-be-burglars to climb up onto and hop into our garden!

Given my previous house not far from here was end terrace and we were burgled using exactly this route in - standing on bins to get over the fence, and then obviously in through a door - I'm feeling extremely stressed about this. DP - who is normally a massive curtain twitching complaint lodger (whereas I'm normally live and let live) is being infuriatingly calm about it and says there's nothing we can do and that I'm being ridiculous.

Technically it's an illegal construction unless they have planning permission (no way they do given they made a driveway without a dropped kerb) as it's in the front garden, so I could complain to the council. Would that be unreasonable? So as not to drip feed, they have form for this themselves as they previously complained to the council about DP making excessive DIY noise in the garden which upset him so much he's barely picked up a tool since. If they'd just come and knocked on the door he'd have packed it in happily.

I could go and knock on their door but I can't see them taking it down as it won't have been cheap to build and then if I complain to the council they'll know it was me (yes, they probably will anyway but still). What can I do so I don't fall out with the neighbours but also so I can sleep at night??

Interestingly the advice I got from the insurance people last time was to have a wobbly fence that would collapse easily rather than a sturdy one that's easy to get over! Not that that's actually why the fence is in shit - it's just not made it to the top of the list of things to spend money on yet.

That doesn’t state anything about a table needing planning permission.

How come I didn’t need it for my conservatory but your neighbour needs it for a table?

Was your conservatory in your front garden?

I really don't imagine planning permission is required for something not much larger than the bins that has no other use. I'm not sure how you'd prove that they've left you open to higher chances of robbery. I am sorry you were burgled prior though OP, that must have been very alarming and has clearly left a mark but I don't think this specific bin store is going to swing much either way. Put CCTV or a ring doorbell up if you need to feel some extra security, motion sensor lights etc.

Report the lack of drop kerb if you like but I'd think about what motivates you to do it -Is this really about they fact they reported your DP for DIY noise? If that made him so out of sorts he no longer does any (even though he is perfectly entitled to at set times) then what is the benefit of pursuing this, presumably it will make that problem worse and you will both be at home anxious about bad neighbourly relations.

Pick your battles IMO.

I’m interested to see the rest of the access to your house - unless you have 60ft barbed wire fortresses covering the rest of your house I’m not sure why you’re fixated on this particular fence? I strongly suspect you just don’t like your neighbours and just wanna stick the boot in

No I'm not going to report the kerb. It's been like that for decades and I didn't report it when they just semi-bashed down the front wall and drove their car over it and then left it there to rot for years. This isn't about wanting to fight with the neighbours - I just got a horrible fright and flashbacks to being burgled when I saw that this morning. As I've said further up the thread it's clearly an overreaction and I'll just have to let it go.

But FFS you DO need planning permission for ANY structure in a front garden 😂

Lydia - where is your conservatory?

They were unreasonable and arsey towards you OP, so if it bothers you I’d do it. I can be petty though! Presumably you don’t have good relations to lose & they may be sprucing up to sell anyway.
id be more worried about the dropped kerb, driving over the pavement frequently will damage the structure and any underlying infrastructure, eg water, broadband etc that may be under there and so that’s just unreasonable of them to try and avoid the cost of the formal application.

Where is the bin shed. In your garden or theirs. I am confused. Do you want to draw a diagram. Which part of pp would it need. Its not up against the wall and is less than 2.5m

I can’t take AIBU seriously when the OP uses the words “you’re all wrong”. You need to make your fence more of a deterrent, but in any case if burglars managed to jump over it using the bin store how would they get back out with their loot?

Hyacinth is that you ???

My ndn got fined for having 2 hooks drilled onto his house at the front.
Listed building..
Planning is a minefield!
He didn't however get a fine for demolishing my wall.
At the back of the house not so strict...

I don't think they'd need planning permission for that. At least it looks quite smart.

We were burgled while we slept. They didn't use a bin store.

It's in their garden. I would definitely be miffed if they'd built it in mine 😆

Anything forward forward of the 'principle elevation' ie the front wall of your house, counts as the 'front curtilage'. Planning rules require permission to build any structure within the front curtilage (most usually a bin store of a bike shed). No one bothers with it but occasionally people come a cropper when someone complains.

Anyway, I shall bow out of this thread at this point because I've already admitted I'm wrong about the bins and I'm not sure how many ways I can repeat the planning rules when I really ought to be doing some work.

Feel free to keep berating me in my absence! 👋

Looks much nicer than bins and burglars will just climb on bins if they want to get over the fence. You’re the issue not them. Get cctv if you’re worried

That fencing gives them something nice and easy to grip onto to pull themselves over the fence even without the bin store

You're being crazy. Burglers can stand on a bin, they don't need a bin store. They also don't need permission for that either.

Don't be that neighbour

once in the garden and unseen from the road they have time to break into the house and then obviously they take the loot back out through the front door! You've clearly never been burgled.

Anyway, am really leaving now 😆

If you're not going to report the kerb, what if they park their car there instead?

The bin store is in the front of the neighbour's home.
An 'outbuilding' does require PP.
A bin store is likely to be classed as an outbuilding, along with sheds, playhouses, saunas, kennels etc

I never knew this. Councils could have an absolute field day!

Personally I'd rather see a bin store than the bins, but that's not the issue.

OP is correct - the front of the property isn't covered by permitted development even bin storage needs planning if its on the front of the property.

I work in planning and have only ever had one case where there was a complaint about bin storage and retrospective permission was given.

Most people never have problems arise from their bin storage at the front because complaints from neighbours are few and far between because people prefer the bin storage to the bins themselves! I mean you could complain OP but then they would just leave the uncovered bins next to your fence if they didn't want to pay the planning fees.

I have old class a bin store as storage

I can't visualise how their front borders your back.

Que?

I understand why you are worried given you've been burgled before but honestly that bin store doesn't make a blind bit of difference. If burglars want to get into your house, they will.

You need to make your house the least attractive option. Visible alarm system. CCTV. Good door and window locks. Not leaving windows open. Etc etc.

Go on YouTube and search for ex burglars' videos. They tell you loads of ways to make your house one a random opportunistic burglar won't bother with.

And with the best will in the world, if someone decides to target your home specifically because you've got something really valuable - they're getting in. While you're out. While you're in. With baseball bats. With knives. You can't ever stop that. All you can do is deter your average door handle rattler.