I live in a terrace house. My neighbour on one side has been there for about five years. I've never had much to do with him but will occasionally say hello in passing. He's always struck me as being a little odd.
His back garden resembles a builder's yard. It's full of old bricks, roofing tiles, car tyres, wooden panels, etc. I have no idea where he gets it all from but he never does anything with it. He occasionally moves things around but it never gets any tidier.
While it's unsightly, it has never bothered me too much because it's his house and none of my business.
About a year ago, he erected some scaffolding at the back of his house. I assumed he was having repairs done but it soon became apparent that this wasn't the case. For the past year the scaffolding has simply stood there, serving no purpose. I was initially concerned that he'd be able to use it to see straight into my daughter's bedroom. Those fears have gradually lessened, since I've only seen him up there a handful of times and it makes such a creaking noise that he'd never be able to do it discretely.
Since the lockdown, he's began using the scaffolding as a kind of vertical storage for his increasing collection of building/automobile junk. He's has wooden panels across the scaffolding and various things tied down to the beams. I don't even know if he's qualified to erect scaffolding.
Aside from the fact that it looks like a complete eyesore (and it really really does,) it makes me feel nervous that something could fall. It has been really windy this past week and I was genuinely worried that something might blow off, causing property damage, injury, or worse.
I know the obvious first step is to talk to him about it - but in all honesty, I'm not good with confrontation. At best, all he'll do is fob me off with assurances that it's safe and my fears won't be allayed at all. I know nothing about scaffolding so I'm not in a position to argue.
At worst, it could turn into a nightmare neighbour scenario.
If I report it some sort of local authority, he'd know it was me. His neighbours on the other side cannot see it, and it's too far from the back street to be a concern to anybody else passing by.