Building Regs for Permeable Hardstanding by Boundary Hedge

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I have just moved into a rural area & have inherited a dispute over a permeable hardstanding that was constructed over 8 years ago. The wooden box structure was filled with gravel to give good drainage. However, a local farmer claims that it should not come up to the boundary hedge & he has a 'legal right' to 1m clearance.

I am unsure of this, as it is not a building but groundwork & classified as permitted development.

He has, however, taken matters into his own hands & dug up my parking bay with a JCB, without formal notification.

Is he correct in his interpretation of building regulations?

 

[^woody^]

Building regs don't apply to hard standings.

You have a land dispute.

 

[pilsbury]

Who's land is it? Surely if it's your land what's the problem with a bit of gravel? Hardly a major issue? So instead of gravel there now, there is a patch of mud. And he's now happy with this? Sounds like more to this.

 

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There is more to this but I was trying to keep it simple. The land itself belongs to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food, managed by the Forestry Commission. I have a Deed granting access & parking rights.

 

[pilsbury]

There is more to this but I was trying to keep it simple. The land itself belongs to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food, managed by the Forestry Commission. I have a Deed granting access & parking rights.

Sounds like he has had a bee in his bonnet for quite some time. Seeing as you've just moved in I'd be careful not to upset the apple cart. Talking to him would be a good start. P1ssing him off now might really make living difficult what with his recent history of JCB use!

 

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Had a long chat with him on 28th June. We discussed issues such as developing vehicular access, drainage etc. Seemed to go well.

He did have a 'bee in his bonnet' that I allowed another neighbour to park there whilst I sorted out a car, & had taken to parking his tractor in the bay to stop people using it. He said the bay had killed his hedge (see photo) & told me he would dig it up. I said I had tradesmen starting in a few weeks, we need the parking & doing so would be a very hostile act.

On the day of the crime, I called to his house to collect a postal parcel. Not a word was mentioned about his plans for later that day. The police asked if I had received a formal complaint from his solicitor ...well, not yet.

 

[pilsbury]

Sounds like it's going sour already. Only one option I'm afraid..... PTLB.

 

[Nakajo]

A Percutaneous Transthoracic Lung Biopsy seems a little extreme to me.

 

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What's PTLB?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

You don't want to know! Not when your neighbour has his own muck spreader!

 

[pilsbury]

An old favourite to sort out neighbourly disputes..... Poo through letter box.

 

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Ha ...I thought it was 'Punch The Little B*****d'...!

 

[pilsbury]

That's phase 2 when he marches up to your door accusing you of the faecal act.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Your deed allows you access to that bit of land and it allows you to park on it. It doesn't allow you to do anything else with it (and the wording on the deed may be critical to determining whether you are allowed to permit anyone else to park on it). Presumably Farmer has been granted access to maintain the hedge- it being a farm he won't be playing with a dinky little Black & Decker hedge trimmer, it'll be a chunky thing on the back of his JCB. Driving that off a 3' drop would be tricky.....

There shouldn't be any problem with you digging out a bit of the soil & backfilling to ground level with hardcore/whatever (since it won't impede his access) but anything else is pushing your luck.

 

[Ian H]

So the gravel has been built up to make the area level?

Get rid of it and park on a slope.