moving a fence.

[measureofmydreams]

I'll keep this as brief as I can.

We moved a fence out to the boundary of our property. it now matches the line of our neighbours' fences. The boundary meets some woodland owned by the council. The council confirmed our boundary 2 years ago. And it's on the land registry plans.

But another neighbour (not one who our boundary lines up with, but one to the side of us, and whom it does not affect - in fact it affects no one) has complained to the parish council and the moving of our fence has since been referred to in the minutes as an 'unlawful land grab'. I only found out by reading parish council meeting minutes of meetings held over the last year. I looked at the minutes online when I saw a couple of people walking around in the woodland at the rear of my property. No one is ever usually there.

They are liaising with the council's solicitors at the moment and I guess I'll hear at some point, if they feel they have a case.

I am very upset. We have been in the village for 12 years, whereas most other neighbours have been here (or their families) for 40+ years. I feel vulnerable and it feels like victimisation. I don't want to go legal on this as it would cost a fortune. I will wait to see if I hear anything. But it makes me want to move.

@measureofmydreams I live somewhere where neighbours routinely report others. For all sorts of alleged infringements. Basically, of course you are being victimized!

Assuming you are correct and you have concrete proof on the land registry, why don’t you just send the LR plans and any deeds to the Parish Council clerk and chairman? Their solicitor will unearth the same detail anyway. Also confirmation from the Council about ownership. Then ask for an apology to be minuted. This is what we did when our planning application was incorrectly minuted by our Parish council and caused uproar and nastiness from our neighbours. We’ve been here 36 years! After the word solar, they incorrectly inserted “farm” instead of “panels”. You can see the issue. We’ve been accused of all sorts of things but at least our Christmas card list is short!

Again assuming all your paperwork is in order as op states. I wouldn’t worry, it’s probably someone with more time on their hands than they know what to do with. Just do what @TizerorFizz has kindly suggested.

fwiw, we had a similar issue with canal and river trust biffa skips which a neighbour wanted moving into our land - they wanted them hidden behind our hedge!!! Never going to happen - but it was something they repeatedly pushed in parish council
meeting for about 4 years. IIRC the parish council had to be seen to discuss the possibility and dismiss it ‘for the record’. I only had to write in once to inform them that our land was owned privately and that the bins were lawfully located on canal and river trust own land and it wasn’t my problem to deal with. Said neighbour had wanted to build a holiday let out of their garage space and was refused and they needed to direct their frustration somewhere.

That's a horrible way for someone to describe it. 'Land grab' implies you are taking what isn't yours. Hopefully they'll be embarrased when they discover your fence is simply marking your correct boundary.

Thank you for your sound advice @TizerorFizz which I will follow when the time comes, and to everyone for being here.

I will attend the next council meeting and just listen (never been to one before); will wait for their approach, and then send the documents. I'll also ask that the presumptious term unlawful land grab is redacted from previous miutes.

I was feeling so low yesterday but it feels better to know that I'm not alone.

I presume you have the council boundary confirmation in writing? If you do copy it and forward to the parish council

It depends on the context. If , for example, another resident had raised it as a "unlawful land grab" it might be appropriate to quote that. What action was recorded?

Email in the boundary proof that you have now, before the meeting. Gives them a chance to read and consider.

@measureofmydreams Id send it all in now. If it’s already in the minutes, they are taking it forward so I don’t see why you just go along and listen. You won’t be allowed to say any anything. So send them what proves you own it before any meeting and ensure it’s available at the meeting. Why drag it on longer? Makes no sense. As long as you are 100% correct of course.

Maybe the neighbour didn't realise it's your boundary? Of course they could have discussed it with ypu but some people are just like that and report.
It doesn't sound like an issue though as you have everything in order so whilst your neighbour is BU, it won't come to anything.

Agree with PP where you just forward the info ahead of the meeting to the council

Forward a copy of your Land Registry map plus any correspondence regarding the matter between you and the County/Borough Council to the Parish Council and then attend the next meeting. I think there's a 10 minute slot where the public are allowed to speak - there is at our PC meetings anyway.

Joe public is under the misconception that Parish Council have powers - in fact they have virtually none. All they can do is raise the issue with the appropriate authorities which in this case you say is the main Council who have agreed to the positioning of your fence.

Villages always have busy bodies who have nothing better to do than poke their nose into other peoples' business. My other half is a Parish Councillor and I take a number of phone calls from people who have unreasonable expectations or who seem to think they should have been consulted on things that have nothing to do with them. I have been known to put one or two of them politely but firmly in their place - mainly because in spite of me telling them that Councillor partner is not at home they continue to regale me with their non problem as if I can deal with it.

I wouldn't worry if you have the paperwork to prove it's your land.
If I were you I'd turn up at the meeting and ask to speak when they get to your agenda item.
I'd take photocopies of your documents and state clearly that it's your land and you have the documentation to prove it, this way your objection will be minited, the busy body may also be there, which will take the wind out of their sails.
Stand up for yourself

If you are going to go to a parish council meeting it is worth checking their attendance rules. At our last address anyone could attend the meeting without asking, at our new home, you have to email the clerk of the parish first to book your attendance. So your may have some rule about who can or can’t just turn up and wether you can or cannot speak up.
@TizerorFizz has given you some lovely advice to follow.
wishing you luck it’s resolved very quickly. Ime parish councils are good at sorting this type of thing and humouring trouble makers.

The council confirmed our boundary 2 years ago. And it's on the land registry plans.

Just write to the parish council referencing the previous minutes and sending the information proving that this was not a land grab.

We have a Parish council that allows 10 minutes for items to be raised before the meeting but not items on the agenda. You have to notify them about speaking to an agenda item but the agreements carry more weight and are evidence. Speaking isn’t the same. They also allow about 2 mins to speak so it’s very little if an item
is complex.

I went to the parish council meeting (I did not say anything and I'm not sure anyone knew who I was) and it was announced that the Clerk has written to the neighbour who raised the matter with the parish council (no names were mentioned )to say that there is no boundary issue.

Assuming that there is no comeback the matter appears to be resolved. I have all the proof printed out and ready to send if I need to. Thank you to everyone for their advice and support. It really helped.

That’s a good outcome. To me, it sounds as if it has all been resolved, minuted and the neighbour has been told firmly that there is nothing to pursue going forward.

That’s very good. It is amazing how much time and effort is put into checking such complaints. We’ve been in our house over 30 years but you would be amazed at what we’ve had to deal with. Every single time we are correct. New people move into the village and there’s always something to complain about! Hopefully for you, this is the only, and last, complaint.