Gardens and Boundaries

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You have just bought your dream home- but how long are you going to live there? What ever the ...

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  • Do you need to notify your neighbour if building an extension?

    My neighbour is considering building an extension to expand their kitchen. My conservatory wall forms part of our garden boundary and the wall itself has patterned windows. Do the neighbours need planning permission and do they need to consult their neighbours also? Am worried they may block my windows.
    Some building work does not need building permission if it falls under what's called permitted development. Single storey extensions can fall under this, a lot depends on the size, the distance from the boundary and how big the plot of land is upon which the house sits.

    To find out what's allowed and what needs planning permission, check out the goverment's planning portal website, it's very helpful.

    The following link gives useful visual guides: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/house

    If there is no requirement for planning permission, your neighbour does not need to inform you, but they really ought to out of politeness. If there is a requirement, then you should be informed, although you can only object if there is a good reason to, not things like the temporary disruption caused by the work, but long-term things like it would block out your light etc.

  • Is it against the law for my garage to be used as a meeting place for my teenager and friends?

    The garage is my property and is within my garden boundaries. I have been told that it is against the law and can ony be used to put my car in!!! Thanks you
    yes...............

  • what are the rules to have a downspout?

    my neighbour has been told by a planning officer he needs to replace his garden boundary wall so he is trying to blame my down spout for washing out the foundations of the wall (even though the wall has no foundations, but he doesn't know that) my down spout is correctly placed because it is placed like all other down spouts in my area my question is because my downspout is secured to the boundary wall as is his does it actually have to be a certain distance away from the boundary wall or is it just the walls of the houses?
    a planning officer would not tell your neighbour ...maybe a building inspector ..but for that the wall would need to have a dangerous lean ..outwards ...but your downpipe ..like his should go into a drain ..its not on to just let it dishcharge onto ground ..but why a downpipe should be connected to the boundary wall beats me

  • Can anyone recommend a quick growing prickly hedging plant?

    We're having a lot of fir trees felled from our garden boundary and there'll be several large gaps between our garden and next doors. Any ideas of quick growing plants, pref. prickly to deter dogs etc, which will be ok in shade? I realise we'll have to rotovate and feed the soil first.
    Robinia pseudoacacia (Black Locust) would fill the bill. It needs to be pruned aggressively as it grows rather quickly and will form a tree if left unpruned.


    Rubus cockburnianus (White-stemmed bramble) is also a good choice.
    Here are pictures of the above:

    http://www.noble.org/WebApps/PlantImageGallery/Plant.aspx?PlantID=17&PlantTypeID=3


    http://www.bucknur.com/acatalog/product_10306.html

    So would Japanese mock orange.
    Here's a site for pictures:

    http://home.comcast.net/~anneric/plants/pittosporum-tobira.htm

  • Where can I find details on land boundaries?

    I am looking at buying a house. The house is in Bristol and has a huge garden but the boundaries are unclear.

    Were online can I view the deeds to the house or any info about the boundaries. I understand I may have to pay for such a service.

    Any help would be great, thanks to all.
    The Land Registry is the place to look. This is the government office where all property deeds are lodged. They may charge a fee for certain types of search. If you can't find your way around their web site then phone them.

    www.landreg.gov.uk/

    Beware of other web sites that claim to provide the information. They will charge their own fee in addition to the Land Registry fee.

    If you are employing a solicitor to do your conveyancing then they will provide you with a copy of the deeds which MUST show the property boundaries in an unambiguous way. The problem with that is if you don't like what you see then you still have to pay the lawyer.

    You may be lucky if you ask the council planning department but that could take months to get a result. You might find a copy in the Reference Library (near the cathedral) but that's not guaranteed either.

  • how big can a shed/workshop be in your garden be for you need planning permission?

    I want a big shed/workshop in the garden but im not sure on the planning permission i.e (size wise) for it how bigger shed can i have without planning permission??
    do you know or tell me if i can atatch it the shed/workshop to the house like a conservatory?? i.e extra bedroom downstairs if that makes sence lol.
    Rules on all this have changed in the last couple of years. And for the better as far as I can see.

    Basically it's not about size, it's about how close to boundary walls and how high/tall the construction is going to be.

    Have a look at http://www.doineedplanningpermission.co.uk/ for further info.

  • How close to a boundary fence can you build a one storey log cabin without planning permission in the UK?

    If possible please state the maximum height a pitched roof can be. The cabin will be more than 5 metres from the main house and take up less than half the garden. Also does getting planning permission for a log cabin often enable you to build closer than if you didn't have it?
    It can be a maximum of 4 metres high if it has a ridge under "Permitted development 2008 "
    (Statutory instrument 2362, 2008) You need to be minimum of 2Metres from the boundary. You need not apply but it is advisable to get a "certificate of lawfulness" to prove it complies with the permitted development guidelines.(SI 2362 2008). You may not live in this cabin. You are not allowed to have sleeping accommodation in such a building.
    If you make a formal planning application you may be able to position it closer than 2 Metres from the boundary. In the case of formal planning permission, neighbours receive notice from the Planning Dept.If you apply for formal permission you may apply to have it habitable but it will need to
    comply with Building Regs for habitable buildings which is much more onerous than a garden cabin.
    Your Building control dept will have a leaflet on garden buildings also.The local guidelines where I am state that if a building of no more than 30M2 is closer than 1M to boundary then it needs to be built from substantially non-combustible materials.Sort of rules out log cabins does it not?
    So you need to see your local Building Control Guidelines for garden buildings also.

  • What can I grow around the boundaries of my garden to keep out cats?

    Also how would cat owners feel if I allowed my dog to come and do there business in there back garden?
    Before you ask the inevitable yes I do clean up after my dog when out for a walk which I always take in fields and not on public highways.
    i agree with you about cats. Personally, i know people who had used small chunks of bath sponge soaked in fish oil, it swells in their belly and you don't see the cat again! But there are powders (garlic smelling) and pellets which act as a deterrent, but not really that good. You could just let your dog out when you see the cat in your garden, they might get the message then.

  • Is it legal to have a neighbours plants/trees grow into my own garden and have their fruits fall on my lawn?

    Is it also legal to cut down any parts of the trees that hang over into my garden in order to put a stop to the fruits that keep falling on to my lawn?
    In the UK, you have a legal right to cut back anything that overhangs into your boundary, but you must place anything that you do cut back into their garden. Any fruits etc that land in your garden however become your property, and you can do as you wish with these.
    Your neighbours are not allowed to come into your property to cut down their trees etc without your position.
    However, it may be wise to consider that talking to your neighbour, and coming to an amicable agreement would be the best solution all round.
    Also, we are killing the earth by deforestation, and it seems a great pity that a few branches and apples are really making your life such a misery. Have you considered the beauty of trees? Our children need to breathe the oxygen excreted by trees.

  • Are recycle collectors permitted, by the Council, to enter my garden?

    Leaving it "on the boundary" of my property blocks the gate.
    and the postman etc cannot get in as there is a hedge on both sides of the path.
    Where I live, they only collect from the garden and return it to the garden. This is to stop the pavements being blocked and none of us have driveways, so inside the front garden is the only option. As far as I am aware, the only people who get theirs picked up and put back exactly where they should are the elderly and disabled who have made it known they need assistance and can not move the bins themselves.