patio made into a drive

[suee]

Hello, I'm hoping someone can give me some advice.

 

My next door neighbour is thinking of having their back garden (well it's not really a garden more a patio as it is all paved) into a drive. The houses are terraced and there is a path sort of narrow rd at the back of the houses, and a few other neighbours have garages so the odd car does drive up this rd. 

This neighbour wont be having a garage just driving on to his land but my concern is that it will be very close to my home. i will see it from my downstairs back window and I'm worried there will be car fumes and noise of them opening metal gates, are these suppose to gate the area off for the parking. 

 

Thanks

[Temp]

I don't think you I'll be able to stop them doing this unless they aren't allowed to drive vehicles on that path/road. Is it officially a public footpath or highway? I ask because in most parts of the UK you aren't allowed to drive vehicles on or across a public footpath that's not also a highway. 

 

I would try and find out who owns it first. You may have to do a map Search at the Land Registry web site. Make sure you use the real web site as some fakes look better than the real one. If it's public land then I think you would need to ask the highway agency what its status is. 

 

Sometimes, but not always, you need permission from the council to create a new vehicular access onto your property. You could ask the council about the possibility of creating an access to your own as the same rules will probably apply to the neighbours. The council are likely to grant permission unless there are good reasons for refusal. Unfortunately the concerns you raised are unlikely to count. Proximity to a busy road junction or dangerous bend is the sort of thing they  worry about.

 

If it appears nobody owns the land you could in theory fence it off and after 12 years claim ownership. In the meantime only the legal owner (that might not exist) can evict you. However if other neighbors have established a legal right to use the path then this approach won't work.

 

Clearly some of the above would seriously annoy people that have been using the path/road for access for years so think carefully before you open a can of worms.

 

 

 

 

 

[suee]

Thanks for replying I wouldn’t say it was a road it’s between 2 streets and I wouldn’t be able to make my back into a drive as there wouldn't be enough room for me to turn 

[AliMcLeod]

@suee, a picture or drawing of the houses/road might help elicit more opinions. eg, where are the garages in relation to this road-that-might-not-be-a-road

Edited September 5, 2018 by AliMcLeod

[Ferdinand]

On 03/09/2018 at 23:47, suee said:

Hello, I'm hoping someone can give me some advice.

 

My next door neighbour is thinking of having their back garden (well it's not really a garden more a patio as it is all paved) into a drive. The houses are terraced and there is a path sort of narrow rd at the back of the houses, and a few other neighbours have garages so the odd car does drive up this rd. 

This neighbour wont be having a garage just driving on to his land but my concern is that it will be very close to my home. i will see it from my downstairs back window and I'm worried there will be car fumes and noise of them opening metal gates, are these suppose to gate the area off for the parking. 

 

Thanks

 

The impression I have is that this is a back-alley behind a row of terraces.

 

I would talk to your Planning Dept about your concerns to see where you stand, and also possibly a free initial consultation with a local solicitor - usually they will give you a 20 or 20 minute conversation. Potentially you can do things such as getting it gated by the Council, but this feels to me like a "grin and bear it" situation.

 

Practically I think you will be able to do little unless you have an established right to park (or something similar). Evidence required which could be Statement(s) of Truth over a (I think) 20 year continuous period, and the project impinges.

 

Enforcement would be by the owner of the land. And if no owner is known or won't enforce, then little can be done except eg social pressure. The flip side of that is that were you (for example) to plant a concrete bollard in the back alley level with the middle of his plot, there is little that he could do (legally). In practice that would fall foul of a midnight angle-grinder, and you would have a poisoned relationship. Would it be worth putting in a bollard or big rock just outside your plot at the back in line with your corners to 'protect your fence'. May help a little.

 

Or can you use viewblocking mitigation ideas such as a hedge or bigger fence, solar sail etc.

 

It may be worth asking this one on http://gardenlaw.co.uk/ where they deal with boundary and access issues very often.

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited September 5, 2018 by Ferdinand
Broken link mended