Neighbour and his england flag!

[incrediblyincredible]

Our NDN are both 80, and we don’t have the best relationship with them, we feel they can be a bit inconsiderate in terms of boundary noise. We’ve had to mention a couple of things which have affected the enjoyment of our home. So we don’t really speak anymore and they have clearly taken offence despite us mentioning things in a polite way.

Anyway, the man has put up a large England flag on a pole on the joining fence. It’s right at the front of the house and the pole isn’t particularly high so the flag flaps in our faces or visitors faces when they open our gate to go down our walkway. This morning I got pissed off with it as the wind is always blowing our way so the flag is always over our boundary and it looks like it’s our flag as a result (just to add I love football and have no issues with the flag itself, just the positioning of it).
So this morning I wrapped it round the pole and opened my gate to make a point that it’s a walkway.
Anyway, I was sat in my living room and I heard the man come out and say “someone’s wrapped that up!” In an angry loud voice.
AIBU to think that he should realise it’s a bit inconsiderate and could put the flag in an area that doesn’t hang over our boundary?

Larkin. Clearly.

Don't know about flags but I like to see my knickers blowing in the breeze, preferably when I'm not wearing them though.😆

Well that's me sorted for Last Night of the Proms!

Was the flag the Union Jack or St George’s cross?

I believe at this particular time in the calendar it's known as the 'Engerland' flag. God that annoys me. 🙄

Op: a neighbour's flag is flapping in an inconvenient place for me.

Mn: well, what flag is it? Have you named it correctly? And it's not windy where I live.

I'm with you OP. I might have drawn willies on it as well, just to annoy him. Let's face it, he deliberately put it where it would flap in your face, he got angry because you wrapped it round the pole. Right now, just about anything will infuriate him further. Maybe . . . maybe you could hang the Argentinian flag your side, just for a few hours?

OP you need to establish who owns the fence and is therefore responsible for maintenance of it. I had a similar problem with a new NDN after I moved into a new build. As soon as the neighbour moved in, they attached a metal pole to a fence post on the boundary fence which they used to string a washing line. It was my fence - erected and maintained according to the property deeds. I asked them to take it down and they refused - they seemed to think it was jointly owned and maintained. Before I could do anything about it we had high winds and the weight of the washing brought the pole down along with the fence post and a panel.

I wrote them a letter, attaching copies of the property deeds and invoices from when it was erected, to prove it was my fence, as well as an estimate for the repair from the original fencing company. I told them that what they had done amounted to criminal damage, and asked them to please have the fence repaired by a certain date (think it was 28 days) or I would take further action - and to please not attach anything to their side of the fence which could damage it as it was not their property. Thankfully they didn’t argue and it was fixed.

If you own the fence then you can do similar - write a formal letter explaining it’s your fence, attach copies of any proof you have, and ask him to take it down. It’s a form of civil trespass and any damage or weakening of the fence structure as a result is criminal damage. Give him a deadline by which time it must be removed. If he fails to do so then legally you can remove the flag and the pole, but you must return it to his property undamaged.

If your neighbour owns the fence, or it’s jointly maintained then your next best bet is the airspace above your land. You own it and the flag overhanging and flapping onto your property is a direct infringement on your property rights. take photographs and videos of the flagpole and the flag flapping low over the boundary. Write a similar letter and ask him to either take it down or move it somewhere where it doesn’t cause a nuisance. Again give a timescale by which you’ll take further action if he doesn’t comply.

Peak MN innit ?!!

It will be down by tomorrow i really wouldn't stress over it. If you make a thing of it then they will to and will leave it up even longer. Its not worth it

Someone else up thread asked a similar question, am I missing something? The "England flag" is always the St George's Cross?

Wonder if there’s a way for OP to attach her knickers to the flag !!

Ok, thanks.

It’s his fence and he’s entitled to attach what he likes to it. I don’t even care about the fact he has an England flag, what I’m not happy about is it hanging almost constantly over our side of the fence. It’s a big flag and not high enough not to touch people going in and out of our front gate when walking down the walkway.
The bloke is an inconsiderate old tw*t in my opinion anyway, if I liked the guy I would put up with it. He plays old country songs and sea shanties in his garden on loud most days in the summer. He doesn’t speak to his wife well, who now also avoids us presumably because she knows we’re not happy with him but we would happily talk to her if only she could get her DH to act a bit better.

Pedants' corner is that way >>>>>

If it is flapping in your face in your garden it shouldn't be there. It is not unreasonable to want to be able to enter and leave your property without being smothered or garotted by a flag.

Sea shanties? Does he have an accordian too?

I would leave him to it.

Eta: for now. If the flag is still there after the WC is over, then maybe address the issue.

You can remove anything that blocks your access/egress from your home. Take a picture of it flying accross your pathway, then pin it back (don't take it down and be careful not to damage it). If he complains ask him to move it somewhere so that it doesn't block your path.

Meanwhile, buy your own England flag (or make one) and hang it in your window, that way no one can make out that your issue is all about the flag. You just want to get to your front door, which is perfectly reasonable and lawful.

Can you offer to put it higher up for him it's probably as high as he can manage. How big is it?

If they are total arseholes, I would've cut it down.

Haha! Brilliant! Yours, BeanQuisine?

Garden shears ?

Yeah probably in about 6 hours 😄

Then go for the airspace above your property. Because your neighbour owns the fence, the focus should be on the fact that the flag is crossing the boundary line and obstructing your main pathway. Neighbour has the right to use the fence, but they don’t have the right to let their property invade your airspace and block your path.

You can’t physically touch the fence or flag, and if you really can’t face talking to him, start a paper trail by putting a note through the door, telling him clearly that the flag is hanging over the boundary directly across your path and flapping in the face of anyone walking to or from the front door. Ask him to move the flag/pole to where it will not overhang or otherwise cause a nuisance on your side of the boundary. Give him 28 days to do so and make it clear that if he doesn’t comply you will take further action.

If he ignores it, you can escalate to the LA Planning Enforcement team. In the UK, flagpoles attached to fences or buildings have strict regulations and if positioned in a way that causes a physical obstruction or projects over a boundary causing a hazard, the LA can order him to remove it or put it somewhere else. So to escalate you would need to take a video of the flag blocking your pathway, and then make a full report, supported by the video evidence online via your LA’s website under ‘Planning Enforcement or ‘Neighbour Nuisance.’ They will then investigate.

That would annoy me too…….could easily cause an eye injury if it flapped across a persons face! it would have disappeared overnight if it flapped over our fence!