New build - removal of boundary hedge

[foresttowndiy]

I'm sure someone on here has the knowledge to answer this.
My brother's nextdoor neighbour has sold off the bottom half of his garden for a new build. Next door is on a corner plot so has access from side street.
New build has been approved (surprise, surprise) and plans say my brothers hedge and boundary trees are to be removed and replaced with a wall and back of a garage.
This boundary is my brothers as shown by his deeds, not the boundary of the new build.
Can they do this?

 

[Diyisfun]

They cant do it if its not there's, but they could create a new boundary on there property.

 

[foresttowndiy]

Well I'd have said same, my hedge, hands off!
This is my brothers quote;
My boundary is a hedge, with trees growing in it. The plans show removal of the hedge and trees and replaced with a wall and garage. Council granted saying the fact I say the land is mine is not grounds for council to deny permission. Land registry say a legal boundary deals with the precise separation of ownership of land. It is an invisible line dividing one person's land from another's. It does not have thickness or width and usually, but not always, falls somewhere in or along a physical boundary feature such as a wall, fence or hedge. The exact positions of the legal boundaries are almost never shown on registered title plans and are not shown on Ordnance Survey maps. Therefore I have to legally challenge on trespass grounds!
end quote
I think what this says is the boundary is somewhere in the middle of the hedge, they could cut it back to the main stems but I think this is bully boy builders tactics against the little man who owns the hedge. My brother is self employed and can't afford to go playing at court stuff.
Council isn't going to have a problem with all this, they get a further council tax payer at the end of all this, don't they.

 

[big-all]

the reason the council do not get involved is because they are approving an application to check its correct for the area and situation within guidelines
who owns the land is not there concern in the same way as you buy a paper or get on a bus you don't expect to check all credentials to say they are allowed to sell you a service

remember anyone may ask what is permitted [what they can get away with ] in an area before they make an offer to the owners to work out the the pros and cons

i could put in a planning application on your house without your knowledge or permission to find out what i am allowed to do if i buy your house to decide if buying your house is viable in my plans

 

[^woody^]

A boundary is an imaginary line between two properties. A hedge, wall fence etc is not a boundary, but can be on or denote a boundary

Any hedge, wall or fence on or near a boundary will be owned solely or jointly.

If you want o determine where a boundary is and the deeds do not specifically state so, then a surveyor will have to come out and measure up, and give an opinion on where the boundary line lies. Then, if there is disagreement, then a court will have to decide

When a planning application is made, the applicant must fill in a certificate to state that they own the land for which a the application relates to, or that they do not own the land but have or have not informed the owner. If the applicant has misled the planners, then this can be challenged. However, a boundary wall may not be part of or relevant to the actual application, so you need to determine this first

 

[Nige F]

Your best chance - in my opinion - is to get someone like English Nature ? involved to see if the hedge and trees have any merit as ancient hedgerow or valuable trees If they have the "heads up " on the site they may do an environmental survey on it for newts and who knows what aswell

 

[rjm2k]

I'm sure someone on here has the knowledge to answer this.
My brother's nextdoor neighbour has sold off the bottom half of his garden for a new build. Next door is on a corner plot so has access from side street.
New build has been approved (surprise, surprise) and plans say my brothers hedge and boundary trees are to be removed and replaced with a wall and back of a garage.
This boundary is my brothers as shown by his deeds, not the boundary of the new build.
Can they do this?

No they can't if the hedge/trees are his property. If this is the case then he should immediatly make them aware that it's his property and that they do not have your brothers permission to remove them. If they remove them knowing that they belong to your brother and they do not have permission to remove them, it's criminal damage. The council granting permission for the plans is an entirely different thing.

He may end up in a debate about whether the hedge/trees are actually his property or not.

 

[foresttowndiy]

Well this has all changed now.
To avoid the stress of a major dispute my brother agreed to the hedge being removed and a fence erecting. Both parties agreed to this and the builder put up his fence. Yesterday, while my brother is on holiday, the builder took the fence down and moved it further into my brothers garden, when challenged by my sister in laws mum who is house sitting the builder waved an a4 map with boundarys on claiming he'd put fence in wrong place.
Can he do this without my brothers permission? My guess is no formal agreement was put in writing and the builder is a very aggressive individual who has done nothing but lie to our faces.
How expensive is a boundary survey? I know my brother is strapped for cash but I'm willing to spend some to save his stress.
I've been told to simply rip out the fence and put in markers but I'm not the land owner and don't know where the old hedge was exactly. We have a 25 year old photo which shows the hedge line but how useful is this?

 

[Nige F]

Let the "builder " build the whole lot - then sue him for tressass . Take surreptitious photo`s /videos of all the works etc. That old photo may be very useful . There`s more than 1 way to skin a cat - or stuff a bully boy builder

 

[^woody^]

Get some advice from a local surveying firm and Solicitor

A survey will be a few hundred pounds. This will be insignificant compared to the legal costs of pursuing a boundary issue claim

Your bro should have got the earlier agreement in writing with a dimensioned plan of the agreed fence location signed and dated

 

[Diyisfun]

I have just used google earth to see where my boundary was, its about 2" away from where the fence is now. so more land for me when my new fence goes up tomorrow. Its land from the highway, not a person.

 

[maltaron]

How did google earth determine your boundary?