Hi all - looking for fence advice please

[EleanorS]

Hi everyone

i can see a few topics on fences, but need some advice before contacting local council and having to pay fees for something I might not need to. we purchased a property a few months ago and have a jungle in the back! 
 

2 questions if anyone could help? 
we are replacing fencing down one side of the house that splits the back garden between us and the neighbours. It’s shared ownership on the dead’s but they won’t pay for fencing but happy for us to do this. Do we need to have the good side facing them if it’s shared responsibility and they don’t want to pay for it? From reading I don’t think we have to have the ‘good’ side facing them if the above applies. 

what I can’t find anything on:

 

we have a very over grown back of the garden that backs onto a public footpath and road. We intend to clear the jungle but it leaves us exposed at the back of the house. The back boundary is cordoned off all along the back of all the houses by a waist height council fence. 
Then there is the a footpath and main road. 
Once it’s all removed we want to place a fence here no more than 2m as per guidance. This would be on our ‘land’ boundary. Are we okay to do this? 
The whole row of houses have either fences or mostly trees that provide the privacy. 
 

thank you so much for any help! 

[DevilDamo]

2 hours ago, EleanorS said:

Do we need to have the good side facing them if it’s shared responsibility

What’s the existing situation as in who already has the ‘good’ side?

[DevilDamo]

2 hours ago, EleanorS said:

Are we okay to do this?

 
In the majority of cases, that will be fine. However, you may need to check with your LPA as to the exact classification of this piece of land. Even though it may be in your ownership, there may be a clause somewhere that states this area as being ‘public amenity’ land. Your other option is to enclose the space and after four years, submit a Lawful Development Certificate application for an existing use.

[SuperJohnG]

I'd absolutely have the good side facing  yourself if you are paying. That's what I did with my neighbours. 

 

As for the bottom of the garden,.I don't know the rules but I'd probably just stick one up and stuck it and see if anyone says anything. 

[SimonD]

20 hours ago, EleanorS said:

we are replacing fencing down one side of the house that splits the back garden between us and the neighbours. It’s shared ownership on the dead’s but they won’t pay for fencing but happy for us to do this. Do we need to have the good side facing them if it’s shared responsibility and they don’t want to pay for it? From reading I don’t think we have to have the ‘good’ side facing them if the above applies.

 

A good excuse is that if you're doing a traditional feather edge fence you nail it all on your side of the fence, automatically giving you the nice face. Otherwise you'd have to be in their garden doing all the nailing.

[EleanorS]

Thanks all. 
our document just state that it’s shared responsibility of maintaining the boundary lines. 
we’re going to write to them so we have it documented that we are paying for the fence and intend to have the good side facing us. Any issues they can then come back to us? We own ours but the joining garden is owned and rented out. 
biggest worry it chopping all the trees and bushes at the end and putting a fence up to then take it down! Maybe will chat to the other neighbours on our row. 

[ToughButterCup]

2 minutes ago, EleanorS said:

.... Maybe will chat to the other neighbours on our row. 

 

That's the place to start. Always

[larry]

16 hours ago, SuperJohnG said:

I'd absolutely have the good side facing  yourself if you are paying. That's what I did with my neighbours. 

 

As for the bottom of the garden,.I don't know the rules but I'd probably just stick one up and stuck it and see if anyone says anything. 

We had a similar situation with neighbours, though we knew the issue was the freeholder's fault not our neighbour's fault for not maintaining the fence. It was a good summer job and frankly having neighbours on good terms is worth more than the couple of hundred quid the fence posts, concrete and cladding cost (I got a local timber merchants to deliver some 4.8m lengths of 200mm? treated cladding, which looks great). Chatted through all our plans with the neighbours in advance of course so there were no surprises for them, everybody was happy.