Shared access: neighbour starting business from home: Vehicle access -v- safety of my child

[JustSometimes]

Question for the legally astute!
I have a new neighbour (NB) who lives in a house behind us. Access is via our drive which goes directly out onto the busy lane. We have a gate (which has always been in situ). NB has started a business from home which entails large 4x4 and trailers coming and going and now lorries. They don't just stop outside our house, they go up the drive and don't look or stop. I've had to grab DS several times already.
DS is of an age where he toddles around the drive - our access to our garden is across the shared driveway; no other route. We've recently put up a sign saying to keep the gate closed / kids playing.
Now the NB has come to complain about it saying:

1. as it's a shared drive, we can't even have a gate at the front (per their solicitors advice apparently).
2. That getting in and out of the car to open and shut the gate is a great inconvinience
3. It's going to be in the way of the business which is getting busier.

DH has been really reasonable and explained our reasons. NB house is not part of a buisness premises and we haven't had any notification to that effect. Where do you reckon we stand? I would have thought that a house primary purpose for residence = children. Children's safety must take precedence to adult convenience?? As for all the to-ings and fro-ings of larger vehicles posing a direct risk to a toddler (who I'm not going to keep indoors all year round to make it easy for a business). How can I find out if the premise is licenced (?) got planning for business purposes.

DH and I are thinking of moving, but as we can't guarantee selling, what do you think?

contact your council and speak to the planning people to find out about it

some councils allow you to look up planning permission online btw

if he has applied for change of use you should certainly have received notification .. unless it already had permission to be used as a business

Contact your local authority to see if NB has applied for permission to change the use of the property. If it's classed as residential, he should apply for a change of user. He may also have to register something to that effect at the land registry.

If he hasn't applied for a change of user, speak to the planning officer.

I think the neighbour would have had to get planning permission for change of use from a residential building to one used for business (even if he is still living there). Contact the local Planning Department to check it oout but I would guess he doesn't have permission as they would have had to consult you (unless the property was used for a business in the past and had permission a long time ago)

If the gate was already there and has been there for years I don't think he can force you to remove it

this link implies that the increased traffic should mean he needs planning permission - as others have said the council planning dept should be able to help

FWIW I think your neighbour is being very unreasonable about all of this and it would certainly be a good idea to find out if he does have the necessary change of use to business use (probably not from what you have said). I think your local planning dept can tell you this.

If you are thinking of moving anyway then be very careful about getting into a fight with your neighbour otherwise it might make it hard to sell your house (you have to declare any neighbourhood disputes).

He knew when he bought the property that it had shared access and that there was a gate, so I would suggest that it is unreasonable of him to object to your gate. Check your deeds to see if there is any covenant relating to the shared access limiting it to vehicles of certain size or to domestic vehicles. Ask to see his health and safety risk assessment relating to the dangers of large vehicles using a shared access, which should include steps he is taking to minimize any risk to you and your family. If he doesn't have one, speak to the local health and safety executive about it. And the previous suggestion of checking his planning status is good - if his premises is domestic, he needs planning persmission for change of use, to which you have legimate safety grounds of objecting to.

The new neighbour is a she - by the way! who has children (albeit gown up now) of her own. She is talking injunctions. We haven't made life difficult as we only shut the gate when DS is outside, otherwise we are leaving it open. I haven't even talked to her and DH has been really pleasant and reasonable about it.

Our deeds say nothing about extra vehicles, but mentions 'nuisance to neighbours'. Wonder if that might be worth a shot?

do you have legal helpline/cover on your house insurance most do by default unless you crossed it off try ringing that for advice

it sounds as though her busines is too big/too much of a nuisance to be carried out without change of use so definitely speak to council

she is trying it on

What sort of business is it that requires large lorries to have access over your driveway? This isn't someone deciding to do, say, aromatherapy from home. This is something quite major and for that she would need to get planning permission from the local authority. Speak to them and notify them of the fact that she is conducting a business from her residential property, one which involves large vehicles using a shared driveway.

Agree with the others about speaking to the planning department. We have access over two of our neighbours driveways and there is a clause something along the lines of we or people visiting our house have access at all times for all reasonable causes, or something like that.

I have started a small business from home and have deliveries and am very aware of the access issue and am considering applying for planning permission for a gate onto the main road so there is an alternative way of getting to our property. I think your neighbour is taking the p**s really but agree with Piglit that if you are thinking of moving you need to handle this really carefully - last thing you want to have to disclose to potential buyers is a dispute over the access.

Ironic part is that some of the goods have been purchased by the Council who've arrived in their marked lorries...

I'm not going to disclose what it is in case she goes on Mumsnet too!

I might keep a photo diary - what do you think?

But with big lorries using the driveway, a sale might be scuppered anyway. Any potential purchaser is going to want to know that this won't be happening. Possibly the only way to get a sale is to stop the business.

Of course, the vendor would have to disclose the dispute, but it's not your normal dispute between neighbours, is it? As a purchaser I would be happy to buy a house where a disclosed dispute was that the vendor managed to get a neighbour to stop carrying on an anti-social business.

Who maintains this driveway? If it is shared then presumably you both are liable for any repairs/maintenance etc. What is the driveway made of, are pot holes likely due to the lorries using it, what if someone has an accident using the drive because it deteriorated into a poor condition bla bla bla. Another matter to consider amongst all the others.

It's jointly maintained, although she is never makes good any of the patches of bare gravel that she's caused due to wheel spinning her own car.
But if she's causing it to wear more than us, that could be an issue.

Take some photos now of the drive in its current condition.

Possibly video the vehicles coming in so you have proof of how fast/unsafely they are being driven?

I know in my friends deeds theres a clause about not being able to have commercial vehicles being stored or operated from the property. If there's somethinglike that then you might get the lorries stopped.

Please do get in touch with the Council.Find out whether the property has planning permission for commercial use.

While planning permission may not be required for a home business that uses maybe only one room in the house and would not involve increased comings and goings (i.e. accountancy) or for quasi-medical practice where one or two rooms are used for consultations, what you're talking about seems much more intensive.

You must see a soliciter, JustSometimes. What is your neighbours business, anyway?

We applied for planning permission to turn a residantial property into a business and were turned down even though the property used to be a sports shop.
I think even if something has been clased as business premises and reverts back to residential the planning permission lapses and you have to start all over a gain.
The planning authority are obliged to consider the affect on neighbouring propeties re noise, disturbance, traffic etc and if she had applied for chage of use you would have been given a chance to object. Since it doesn't sound like anyone has been in touch with you I would guess she hasn't applied for planning permission.
Like somebody said earlier, I would rather buy a house where there has been a dispute but it has been settled than buy one with a disruptive business having access across a shared driveway.

BTW we share a driveway with another house and if either household needs to park a builders waggon or a skip say, we ask the other first an let them know how long the driveway will be blocked and when - common courtesy if you are sharing. This woman sounds downright rude to me

AS I said before, not to keem to divulge what business it is in case she uses Mumsnet. Suffice to say it is handmade bulky items for outdoor purposes.

The previous owner was fine. We have always had the courtesy / polite thing between us with a good helping of neighbourly co-operation if anything extraordinary was happening - ie building work and so on.

The NB's house has never been a business premises. It used to belong to our property as an annex (it was split from the property before we purchased). Our house is a listed building and from all accounts, her's probably is too as it all formed part of the same complex.

I've never been a person to instigate problems: always been the opposite. She's quite a 'character' if you know what I mean.

I would be surprised if the property didn't have a covenant on as it was split in the conversion and also listed is that grade2

sounds highl;y unlikely she can pursue this business from her domestic residnece

she will have to apply for change of use

It really does sound like she is not allowed to run that business there. I think you would have a good case to get her shut down/the lorries stopped.

What that would do for neighbourly relations though....

Am intrequed (sp) by handmade bulky items for outdoor use. Can think of loads, but none handmade...
That riddle will keep me occupied for hours

Does she have children? Is there any reason she would be on MN?

DH and I have been reading your comments with great interest and many thanks. A small development tonight. NB has asked / sort of 'told' DH that she wants us to give her a strip of land around the outside of our garden so she can have her own access in return for a small outbuilding. Now we really are in unknown territory.
There isn't any reason she can't have it but it is an inconvinience. And again, there would probably have to be permission to get hedges removed and access to a road etc and I'm wondering who she thinks is going to foot the bill for that idea.