Bloody Neighbours

cotton

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this but I'm looking for some advice. There's a few issues here. We have a big bush/hedge down our back garden, right at the boundary wall. It's much higher than the wall & fence but only grows on our side. It's been there a lot longer than us or our neighbours.

On the neighbours side, right up to the wall & hedge is what can only be described as a prefab with mains etc that someone lives in. There is a window less than foot from our fence, just over the top of it. It shouldn't be there, it's a separate dwelling from the main house which isn't allowed & it was put up without planning permission. We've never complained about this, even though it blocks our view from the garden, as we're laid back sort of people & believe in live & let live. Plus they are typical nosey complainers that go on about everything & not the type you want to have to listen to.

Anyway, the hedge. It hasn't been cut. When I last cut it, I noticed 2 nests in it, one in the centre, one high up near the top. Being massive bird lovers with lots of different birds in our garden, we left it alone & sure enough, the robins & blackbirds go to it every year & have their babies. It's wonderful to see them all around the garden & only 2 days ago, the robins were in & out of it.

We got home yesterday evening to discover someone had cut the top off it, leaving the nest exposed with the top gone off it.
With absolutely no mention of anything to us, the neighbours had decided to get someone in to cut it, even though it's not on their property. When we questioned them about it, the answer was it was blocking the light to the window in the prefab.

I am absolutely livid over this. Apart from the how dare they just take it upon themselves to do something on our property without our knowledge or consent, the poor nest is now probably ruined.
We were trying so hard to make sure the birds were safe & happy in there.

Is there anything I can do about this?

doctor evil

Report the prefab! Don't let your scummy neighbours see you as a soft target.

Wrong time of year for cutting hedges (thank you tidy towns for making this worse).

Is there a residents association you can get on to highlight this? Are you the only house affected by the prefab.

stevoman

Im with doctor evil on that and make sure to do everything by the book. its a disgrace that those people did that for both reasons of the birds and it being your property.

rosiec

Yup, i agree with the others. Nobody should damage your private property. Try your local county council for advice.

Vegeta

How long is the "prefab" up? Is there a chance it began life as a fancy shed, needing no planning permission and then after a few years they applied for retention as a dwelling?

Before ringing the council try and talk in private with a councillor

cotton

I really didn't want to start WW3 with our neighbours, especially as one of them is old but I'm really fuming over this. It started out as being upset over my lovely robins but now I'm really getting as angry over their cheek & the prefab.

Vegeta, the prefab went up as a dwelling a few years back, there is no way they'd get retention either as the planning permission here (God knows, we'd enough trouble here ourselves trying to get it as they opposed to it! They don't know we know) is so strict. It clearly states no seperate dwellings on the land & anything built has to be 6ft from the boundary wall. This is more like 6 inches from our boundary.

Here's our lovely robins whose nest was destroyed.:(

Mothman

cotton wrote: »

I really didn't want to start WW3 with our neighbours,

You didn't, they did.

Vegeta, the prefab went up as a dwelling a few years back,

Is it the case that once its been up a good few years, that no enforcement can be taken by local council against the prefab?

there is no way they'd get retention either as the planning permission here (God knows, we'd enough trouble here ourselves trying to get it as they opposed to it! They don't know we know) is so strict. It clearly states no seperate dwellings on the land & anything built has to be 6ft from the boundary wall. This is more like 6 inches from our boundary.

Simply make sure you are 100% in your facts. Look at Council website for previous applications and permissions. There apeears to be no consistency in planning

Follow the advice of the others. Regardless of how much of a "live & let live" people you are, you've got to follow through, even when the anger has subsided.

youcrazyjesus!

They have put in an objection to your planning application yet they have an unauthorised dwelling on their property that impinges on your property and they illegally gained acccess to your property to damage your plants?

They're taking the piss! Get onto the council planning department to make a complaint about the unauthorised dwelling, straight after that go down to your solicitor to write them a letter warning them about their illegal activity and the damage they caused on your property and if you are sure they are in breach of planning regulations with the prefab being so close to the boundary mention that in the letter too. Don't let people walk all over you. I would be on their case in a big way.

Dusty87

Cheek of some people. Id thread carefully op, with people like this. I believe if it has been there for 5 years nothin you can do if its runnin off the house electricity, sewerage etc. This window is lookin on to your property is it? Id definately look up on it (not the window, the law:)). If it was the other way around would they be as nice so far. I doubt it.

bernardo mac

You might consider planting a fairly mature, bird friendly native tree in the appropriate spot in relation to the prefab window.beautiful birds and the robins are exceptionally resourceful.They'll rebuild if need be.Good luck Cotton.

doctor evil

Did the nest survive Cotton?

E39MSport

It's done m8. I think you're right about not wanting to start trouble. It will only escalate and the birds might suffer even more. Perhaps you could bite the bullet and have a chat with them about it and let them know what they have done and come to some arrangement about cutting the hedge in future.
On the not-so-negative side, maybe any chicks have already fledged? I heard on Mooney a few weeks ago that a Robin had biuld a nest in a tractor which a farmer had to remove and found that the Robin had rebuilt a few days later.
Cheers,
K

Dusty87

Any news on this OP? How did you get on?