We live in a terraced property in a commercial area, and there is a dry cleaner next door to us whom we don't get on with, he really is a very ignorant & rude person. 
Immediately next to his shop is our drive, the first part of it is a covered archway as we have a bedroom above it (which adjoins to his property on the first floor). After this the drive is open between the two properties.
The dry cleaner has access rights to the side door of his shop over our drive (no problem with this) but we own the drive, its on our deeds. Our drive has two massive solid wooden gates at the street end, which date back from the 1800s - we rarely shut these gates as we choose not to, in order to allow free & easy access to a few other residential properties behind us. These gates are hung from pillars on our property so do not have any thing to do with his walls.
Yesterday it without warning the dry cleaner installed a new machine and a vent for the machine has now appeared behind the large solid gate located on his side of the drive (its usually pulled back gainst his wall), and under our archway. The vent box he has installed is stainless steel and is about a foot sticking over our drive. My main concern is that being directly beind the solid wooden gate (fortunately it is still able to open sufficiently) there is really nowhere for the fumes to go and thus may rot our gate (which would cost a few thousand to replace I would estimate). Is this legal ? I presume but don't know that this machine is a drier, so possibly only water vapour is being emitted.
He also has another stainless steel vent pipe from his dry cleaning machine that just stops short of our bedroom window - now I am worried about the toxicity of those fumes !
I am reluctant to go to the council with concerns as I don't want to stir the 'hornet's nest' - especially if I am proved to be worrying over nothing.
I'm also worried he might try to insist we remove our old gates to allow him to vent from his wall - which would be awful as they are beautiful and add character to our building ?
Please could someone advise me - the whole situation is stressing me out so much ?
Immediately next to his shop is our drive, the first part of it is a covered archway as we have a bedroom above it (which adjoins to his property on the first floor). After this the drive is open between the two properties.
The dry cleaner has access rights to the side door of his shop over our drive (no problem with this) but we own the drive, its on our deeds. Our drive has two massive solid wooden gates at the street end, which date back from the 1800s - we rarely shut these gates as we choose not to, in order to allow free & easy access to a few other residential properties behind us. These gates are hung from pillars on our property so do not have any thing to do with his walls.
Yesterday it without warning the dry cleaner installed a new machine and a vent for the machine has now appeared behind the large solid gate located on his side of the drive (its usually pulled back gainst his wall), and under our archway. The vent box he has installed is stainless steel and is about a foot sticking over our drive. My main concern is that being directly beind the solid wooden gate (fortunately it is still able to open sufficiently) there is really nowhere for the fumes to go and thus may rot our gate (which would cost a few thousand to replace I would estimate). Is this legal ? I presume but don't know that this machine is a drier, so possibly only water vapour is being emitted.
He also has another stainless steel vent pipe from his dry cleaning machine that just stops short of our bedroom window - now I am worried about the toxicity of those fumes !
I am reluctant to go to the council with concerns as I don't want to stir the 'hornet's nest' - especially if I am proved to be worrying over nothing.
I'm also worried he might try to insist we remove our old gates to allow him to vent from his wall - which would be awful as they are beautiful and add character to our building ?
Please could someone advise me - the whole situation is stressing me out so much ?
