Help- neighbours erecting large garden settler right up to boundary. Need advice.

[Stickwithit]

Help!! Last week my neighbours built a large garden shelter type thing next to our boundary. The boundary is a wall which is my wall on the deeds. The shelter doesn't touch the wall but comes right up to it.

The shelter is open on all sides. It's built using huge wooden posts, with a plastic corrugated roof. It's pretty big, probably 5m by 7m. It is really ugly and as their land is higher than ours, and our garden is small, the whole thing looks very imposing and very ugly.

I'm unclear as to wether they can go this. They are continuing to build it today and I want to say something but I don't want to make any trouble especially as relations are strained already. Our children are at school together and a complete fall out would be a real shame. I don't want to be a complaining neighbour, but I also really dislike the structure.

The local planning office is closed today, I've googled but can't get a clear answer.

Any advice would be very gratefully received.

One of our neighbours sought PP for a garden maintence shed so when the poster was put up on the telegraph pole outside their house we were not bothered. Wish we had looked into it though as they have got PP to build a large brick "shed" with shower room, GCH and DGW!!!!!
The council say it is in permitted developement.
We know he will build it and rent it out to a family.
His house he has converted into 9 bedsits and has a house of multiple occupancy licence.
The tenants are all on HB and eastern European, nothing against them but for sure you don,t build a garden maintence "shed" with DG and GCH or a shower room for your tenants to store garden tools in!
Our solicitor, the local MP, the newspapers had no sway with the council as it is permitted developement as 3m from the house etc
Once built if indeed tenants rent it then how long will it take for the council to evict them? If we put up CCV cameras to prove they are living in there we can be done for invading their privacy!!
It is not built yet but will ruin the view from the flat that we rent out making it harder for us to find tenants.
Unfortunatly I dont think there will be much to do about your neighbours, they can build what they like as long as it is less than 23m hign and 3m from their house.
One councillor told us they could cover their entire garden with sheds if they liked!!!

3m high not 23m!!!!

I think the rule (lat tie I looked was that it could not be more than 4 metres high without PP, and it should be one metre minimum from the boundary, but that was years ago and it might have changed, and can also vary depending on oyur local authority. Jins is your girl, you need to ask her.

sorry for crap typing

Hopefully she will be along soon then.

Thank you for your input, and I'm sorry to hear that you have had issues with your neighbour too.

I've found some things on the Internet about not building garden enclosures over 2m high within 2m distance from your neighbour's boundary. But it's all quite confusing and their structure is roofed but has no walls so I'm not sure it counts.

I've been very stupid and sent them a polite text saying I don't want to be a nuisance but it looks rather ugly and is very close and imposing. I wish I hadn't sent it now.....

In general planning permission is not needed for "garden structures" provided they are not for residential use, don't front onto a road, don't take up more than half the garden and are no more than 4m high with a pitched roof or 3m high with a flat roof. Provided this structure is within those limits it is unlikely you will be able to do anything about it.

phr thank you for your advice, isn't there something about structures over 2m having to be a distance of 2m from neighbours boundary too?

Some of the stuff that I've read implies this, but it's all do confusing!

Hopeful bump

If it is within 2m of the boundary the maximum height is 2.5m. That is, of course, the height above their land. They don't have to reduce the height just because their land is higher than yours.

It is 2.80m on my side, and about 7cm over the mac height if 2.5m on their side I think. So, if I understand correctly it's just over the permitted height.

Having said that I guess all they need to do to bring it back within regulations is to lower it by 10ish cm. Maybe it would be pointless to request that they do this as it would still look ugly and imposing at a slightly lower height?

The main point to remember is that you have to live alongside your neighbour in relative harmony!
If you make some tentative inquieries thats fine but once you make it official, although the council won,t tell them who the complaint was from, they will guess and it may make things hostile between you.
We were lucky in that our property is a BTL so we don,t live there and our neighbour doesn,t know who we are!
Can you not put up a 6ft fence your side so you can,t see their carbunckle?

enquiry--- damn wine!