Neighbours have raised their garden level

[Changeeman]

The neighbours at the end of our garden (their garden backs onto our garden), have recently had their garden done.

I was doing some gardening today when I noticed through the fence gaps that they've significantly raised the level of their garden against our fence.

They've raised it, and look to be retaining it with gravel boards. For reference, our fence is just timber with timber posts.

It was previously on a slope, which causes some water logging in our lawn during the wet/winter months, but now they've raised it I'm worried this will be even worse?

I've included a diagram to show what has been done, I'm not sure if they have turf or patio on the new raised section. Should I be worried about this?

I haven’t got the expertise to know whether this is an issue (sure someone will post soon who does) but felt compelled to applaud the clarity of your diagram. Hats off to you!

It’s not touching your fence, and it’s been properly retained with concrete gravel boards? Can’t see that you have anything to worry about.

Our gardens slope...... we recently had a landscape gardener round for ideas.
He said to stop the slope we would need to raise the level of the garden and to do that we would need to remove fence, level garden then re-fence at the new garden height.

@Justwingingit2005 we can see our neighbours head now above the fence when he's walking around 😵

Indeed. Bravo!

Agree with this being a great diagram! What package did you use?
I also agree that there's not much to worry about, obviously seeing someones head while you're in the garden isn't ideal but maybe you can grow a shrub or something?

Haha thanks for the diagram compliments. I actually found a diagram online that was very similar to what's happened here, and then I've used my phones editing app to draw over the bits that were wrong 😅

I think the original diagram was via inkscape

Stolen from a MoneySupermarket thread.

Raising garden land by more than 0.3m requires planning permission and your neighbour appears not to have obtained this.. If he has used your fence for support, he has probably created what's known in legal terms as a 'nuisance' as well, since rotting or collapse is likely to follow, as you suggest.
So what to do? My first port of call would be the council's planning department, enquiring anonymously in the first instance to see if they would be likely to do enforcement. For that you will need to be more precise, quantifying the height increase and the approximate time when the work was done.

Contact your local council.

This happened to us so I reported the neighbour to the planning department and they had to seek retrospective planning permission.

How much has he raised the land?

Patios, terraces, decking etc need PP if raised more than 30 cm, but that doesn't apply to general landscaping.

If the groundworks are of such a scale to constitute engineering works, again PP maybe required.

You could report to your Council and get them to have a look.

Thanks for all the replies. I'm not 100% sure how much it's been raised, or exactly what's on it as I can only see through a gap between the fence posts and panel.

I know they've had a patio laid and some new lawn because I could see a srpinker popping over the fence a few days ago.

I'll try and take a better look later and if not I'll considering reporting to the council to be checked.

For what it's worth I have no issue with the neighbours and want them to have a lovely garden, but not if it means mine will now be ruined or plants killed due to water being directed into our land and waterlogging

I would have thought it less likely water will flow into your garden, they have levelled, which will reduce any downhill flow and put a retaining wall so the water can only go down into the soil, rather than flow into your garden. You could tell them your concerns and ask exactly what they have done and what precautions they have taken to protect your garden and fence, the gap between the retaining wall and your fence is likely to fill with debris over time and rot your fence.

What might concern me is that the raised ground is supported by gravel boards which have a limited life after which your fence will be holding it up

Agree with PP. I think flattening the slope and increasing the volume of soil on their side will reduce the amount of water that flows into your garden.

I’d be worried about

• the height of the fence, as you said, they can see over it now
• the condition of the fence if the soil is above or near the top of the gravel board
• has it been retained properly? Is the gravel board leaning against your fence and just serves to separate the fence panel and the soil? Or is it actually retaining the soil? And how long the gravel boards will last and how they’ll be replaced.

Gravel boards are not retaining walls. You need to evaluate the height but no one has calculated the retaining load. So no one will really know if the boards are up to the job. Cheap solution so probably not.

There is now a trough between your fence and the boards. You don’t know what drainage the land has that’s been built up. Probably none. So where will excess water go to? Either: expand the land and push the boards out of shape or seep through the boards into the trough. This could be minimal and most rain could be absorbed by the garden if its soil. Hard standing - where could it go? Where is the run off? It’s difficult to know without viewing it in a downpour.

If it’s more than 600 mm high the “wall” must be designed by an engineer. BR approval would be needed. Planning is often not needed for garden landscaping.

I would be on to Planning/Building Control

@JohnofWessex On what grounds? What small amount of garden leveling needs pp? It’s not the Great Wall of China that’s been built. BRegs don’t seem applicable as it’s not 600mm high. Do you believe they are? If so, why?

We dont know how high the ground has been raised, if its potentially 600mm then it may well be a Planning/Building Control issue

The OP may not know themselves

@Changeeman If it’s 600mm or more, you know the answer but that is unlikely to be held back by gravel boards. Unless they have put in double decker ones. So maybe get a ladder and look over the fence?

Or invite them over for a coffee (maybe in the guise of wanting to know who did the work as you've been thinking of getting something done in your garden) and ask some probing questions? If they're generally nice and amenable, and this might also serve to show them how MUCH lower your garden is now.

Looks OK to me.
Bung some trellis along the top of the fence

@NewsdeskJC I think you are missing the point on drainage.

I have seen garden landscaping require PP on several occasions. If the works involve reshaping the land to an extent to constitute engineering works, then PP is required.

The OP hasn't said how much the ground level has changed adjacent to her fence. There could have been works else where within the plot too.

This happened to us and they were forced by planning to lower the level again, (it had been raised by around a metre) although they didn’t lower it back to quite the same level as before, and it has increased flooding in our garden.

@Christwosheds 1 m is totally different to 300 mm in terms of BRegs. Also it’s probably not planning. We have a patio behind a retaining wall. It’s engineers calcs they need for building regs. Over 2m, position and type of neighbouring property/road is different. In general a 1 m wall is not requiring pp.