Right for space for fence maintenance

[mick1970]

Hi

We have a field to the back of our house that recently changed hands. Previously there was about a 6m gap between our back fence and a barbed wire fence in the field. The new owner is now planting a hedge right on the other side of our fence line "to keep people from coming in and dumping their stuff". (The strip between the fences was previously unmaintained so people would dump their lawn mowings, compost there etc although we never did).

One of our neighbours also adjoining the field says legally they need to leave a 1m gap to allow for fence maintenance - they've only left about half that, so he is threatening legal action. He's mentioned this to me before but I've never been able to find any mention of this online. Does anyone have a view on whether there are any restrictions? Certainly when we lived in a terrace, neighbours to left, right and behind didn't leave a 1m gap.

Cheers
Mick

 

[big-all]

unless your freind owns the land its trespass without permission

by his logic the farmer can climb into his garden without permission to cut his hedge

 

[Koolpc]

Your boundary, is your boundary. Beyond that, its not. Unless stipulated in the deeds.

 

[^woody^]

You're neighbour will lose his legal action unless he has an easement on the deeds requiring this alleged 1m gap.

 

[mick1970]

Thanks all. Yes I couldn't understand the logic. I wonder if there was some kind of agreement with the previous landowner (neighbour has been here for decades) but if so suspect there's nothing formal backing it up... I'll just ask him where he's got his information from.

 

[clifford1]

"legally they need to leave a 1m gap to allow for fence maintenance"

Most terrace houses would have hardly any gardens left if the fences had to be a metre apart

 

[mick1970]

Just to close this out.... spoke to neighbour again and it all comes down to some spurious agreement with the previous landowner that isn't worth the paper it's written on (which is none).... So , no , there's no grounds for the new landowner leaving a gap.