Neighbour climbs over the fence next to my house to get home.

[AveryC]

Hi everyone,
I just moved in to a new development, everything is good except for one thing.
My house is located at the end of a cul-de-sac. The front door faces a path for we walk to our driveway and a low fence, which marks the boundary at the end of or property. Outside the low fence have a a lawn and have a narrow walkway.
The walkway can get to to places like the supermarket and school.
However, during school dismissal, people often cut across the grass and climb over the fence, stepping into our property on their way home and some neighbors often walk through my property and climb over the fence near my house to access the footpath.

In doing so, they end up stepping on parts of my property, including areas just outside my parking space or some child jump into my front door area.

I feel incredibly annoyed and uncomfortable about their behavior. If they get too close to my house, I usually warn them. But there are times when they do this on the outskirts of my property, which makes it harder for me to say anything.l, but it supposed to be a close.

It’s only winter now; I can’t imagine what it will be like in the summer.
What should I do? And AIBU?

Thank you for reading my thoughts.
Here is my primary school-level drawing for your reference.😂

I'm sorry to say this but we need a better drawing.

Cheeky beggars. Can you put 5 or 6 ft fences along the abused bit?

I tried my best already 😫

If you can't make the fence higher plant some pyracantha, if you have room. That'll be a nice deterrent. And it's also pretty.

Physical barriers are your best option. Plants, statues, taller fences, trellis, whatever.

I’m not sure if the developer has any restrictions, but I suspect that such a tall fence might not be allowed. Besides, placing a fence that high right near the front door would probably make the house look like a prison.

This issue really bothers me. I’ve considered adding some potted plants outside the fence, but I’m not sure if that would help.

Every day, I feel like telling those people not to do this, but I’m afraid of coming across as a strange or difficult neighbor.🥹

burglar grease.

Ooh you could make a ha-ha.

What are the rectangles with P on ?

This is a very good idea 👍🏻

Were you sitting on a spin dryer with your laptop when you produced that diagram OP? Well all I can say is plant big spikey shrubs, well any shrubs if possible, or of course a higher fence, any barrier pretty much, people find shortcuts and once established you need extreme measures to stop them.

I’m currently checking whether this low fence is my responsibility to maintain or if it’s managed by the property management company. If it’s my responsibility, I might consider applying burglar grease. However, I’m really worried that the neighbors will dislike me for it.🥹

Spikey plants are your friends!

Long planters with trellis stuck in, or even bamboo canes knotted together. In summer grow peas up them. As we are heading into winter I’d get solar powered fairy lights and wind them round. Make it really awkward but still pretty.

To show you some spiky hedge options, https://www.best4hedging.co.uk/hedge-plants/prickly-hedge-plants

Also that you don't have to buy tiny plants, look online for established plants you can put in, some lovely 5ft ones if you can.

Agree with spikey plants. Also burgler paint which comes off on clothing if someone climbs a fence!!

Once they've been greased up by your fence, they won't do it again.

The drawing is fine. The boxes with P on them are presumably parking spaces.

Definitely spiky plants and/or trellis on top of the fence.

Sorry, I drew this on my phone 😂 I did my best.

What really troubles me is that, as I’m not a local, I started questioning myself when I saw my neighbors behaving this way. Is it my problem? Is this a common practice in the UK? Am I just being too sensitive?

However, after reading everyone’s comments, I feel more confident about my own feelings.

I can't tell where the footpath is that the neighbours are trying to get to. is it between the parking spaces?

do you own all the 'lawn' beside the footpath or just some of it?

can you make one space in the middle of the parking where people can walk through and then plant spiky plants elsewhere so that people only cross the lawn in one spot?

I know someone with a similar issue and they placed larger potted plants in the way.

Sorry, but the 'diagram' is even more confusing than your description. What do the 'P's' stand for? What are the red arrows referring to??? What are the beige lines/pathway parallel to the fence?

Without a clear understanding of why people are jumping your fence, my suggestions would be:
-plant hedging which will grow along the fence line but higher than the current fence
-put large pots or other obstacles on your side to prevent them getting over it
or my favourite:
-motion triggered sprinkler and lights😂

Since our house is at the end of a cul-de-sac, so the neighbors walk through our property to get to their own homes. The road between my house and the neighbor’s across from us serves as a path for accessing other houses.

From my perspective, this isn’t meant to be a walkway at all. The fence is there to block people from coming in, but they insist on forcing their way through, which doesn’t seem right.

The space between the parking spots actually belongs to us, even though the grass area doesn’t. I can’t stop them from walking on the grass, but they shouldn’t be climbing over the fence to enter our property.

That’s how I see it.😓

Stand in your garden with a hose & spray any fence jumpers! Or install a small swimming pool so when people hop over the fence they land in water!!

But seriously, I would be livid at this. If you can’t erect a taller fence then something spiky is the way to go.
How much time are people saving by hopping the fence compare to going the long way round?

I believe I really need to take this action.🥹