Jump to content

Recommended Posts

I have an eight foot high wall in my garden over which I received about 40 cigarette butts from my neighbour. I spoke to the neighbour and she was horrified and that someone staying with her was responsible. She assured me it would not happen again. A few weeks ago there was another dozen or so butts all in the same place as the previous delivery. I reacted by adding a 4 foot fence on top of the wall.


The neighbour immediately called in the Southwark planning department and went 'ballistic' according to the very pleasant ozzie chap who called in to measure the wall and fence, the upshot is that I have to remove the fence when the letter arrives in three weeks. Another neighbour next door to the 'fenced one' has also got involved, to get several courses of brickwork off the top of the wall.


The wall was there before the neighbours properties were built, and I assumed was a permanent fixture.

Would this be usual to build houses close to a wall (about 6 feet) and 8 years later get it restructured?

According to the description in the deeds it belongs to my property, if they are successful in their application who would be expected to pay for it?


To maintain the privacy in my garden I asked if I could plant trees he said yes as that is greening the planet.

My last question, what would you plant to maintain the privacy of the garden, as the houses are 3 floors high and about 6 feet away from the boundary?

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/5522-garden-wall/
Share on other sites

Hi Steve,


Can't comment on garden wall politics, but can recommend the following trees for being planted close to a wall/house as the roots are rather shallow and/or small. They can even be planted in urns provided you water them regularly.


Magnolia - all varieties are beautiful and bloom in late winter/early spring. They can be very bushy which would be good for screening things you don't want to see.

Chinese dogwood - can grow to be quite tall but with lovely green-white blossoms and dense thick leaves.

Japanese Acers - we have the dwarf varieties and they stay small, but I think the other varieties can get huge as they are maples and I wouldn't recommend the larger variety being planted close to walls or foundations.

Bamboo- probably the best for screening out peering neighbours and noise, we have black and gold and it makes an absolutely lovely backdrop for any garden. And they stay green year round so you don't have to worry about a sudden loss of your privacy (unlike the above trees). You do have to be careful to contain them as being a rhizome they spread like mad and they can pop up under neighbouring walls. The best is the noise it makes when the wind rustles through it, you almost can't hear the airplanes!


Additionally, you can always try climbing plants for the wall. Something like wisteria can be trained to spread across the top of the wall and can add a bit more to the canopy in addition to the trees.


These all live in our very tiny, cramped garden, but they work wonders for giving us privacy without causing our homeowners insurance to flip because of subsidence!


Good luck!

Best,

-C

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/5522-garden-wall/#findComment-177510
Share on other sites

Hi Steve


Speak to the planner. He should be able to tell you whether your wall is ok planning wise. If the wall is original e.g. Victorian, I don't see it being a problem unless the height has recently been increased (the planner should confirm whether there is a retrospective time limit), hence the request to remove the fence you added as you didn't have planning permission to erect it...

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/5522-garden-wall/#findComment-177574
Share on other sites

Read this - http://www.planning-applications.co.uk/enforcement1b.htm


"Any building, engineering or other works which have taken place without the benefit of planning permission, and that have remained unchallenged by enforcement action for 4 years or more, cannot be enforced against. So the erection of a building which goes undetected for 4 years will be allowed to remain."

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/5522-garden-wall/#findComment-177639
Share on other sites

Mathew123, useful information however did you see the recent case of a man who built a house inside an old barn and then after the required time had passed he demolished the barn to leave the new house in its place


Sadly the council successfully contested the build and he was forced to tear it down.

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/5522-garden-wall/#findComment-177642
Share on other sites

I vaguely remember reading that but I think the key point was he had hidden it from view.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/7715908.stm


"the High Court has recently ruled that the four-year period for planning exemption only starts when any shielding construction has been removed."

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/5522-garden-wall/#findComment-177647
Share on other sites

I can recommend Phyllostachys Nigra Bamboo it is a clumping variety so it doesn't spread (but it does form large clumps) and it looks fantastic in your garden (I would recommend planting it straight into the garden rather then pots or anything)


http://www.potandgrass.co.uk/phyllostachys_nigra.htm for more details


I planted some over at my parents 8 years ago and it is now 8 meters tall and sways majestically in the wind.

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/5522-garden-wall/#findComment-177667
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • In what way? Maybe it just felt more intelligent and considered coming directly after Question Time, which was a barely watchable bun fight.
    • Yes, all this. Totally Sephiroth. The electorate wants to see transformation overnight. That's not possible. But what is possible is leading with the right comms strategy, which isn't cutting through. As I've said before, messaging matters more now than policy, that's the only way to bring the electorate with you. And I worry that that's how Reform's going to get into power.  And the media LOVES Reform. 
    • “There was an excellent discussion on Newscast last night between the BBC Political Editor, the director of the IFS and the director of More In Common - all highly intelligent people with no party political agenda ” I would call this “generous”   Labour should never have made that tax promise because, as with - duh - Brexit, it’s pretending the real world doesn’t exist now. I blame Labour in no small part for this delusion. But the electorate need to cop on as well.  They think they can have everything they want without responsibilities, costs or attachments. The media encourage this  Labour do need to raise taxes. The country needs it.  Now, exactly how it’s done remains to be seen. But if people are just going to go around going “la la laffer curve. Liars! String em up! Vote someone else” then they just aren’t serious people reckoning with the problem yes Labour are more than a year into their term, but after 14 years of what the Tories  did? Whoever takes over, has a major problem 
    • Messaging, messaging, messaging. That's all it boils down to. There are only so many fiscal policies out there, and they're there for the taking, no matter which party you're in. I hate to say it, but Farage gets it right every time. Even when Reform reneges on fiscal policy, it does it with enough confidence and candidness that no one is wringing their hands. Instead, they're quietly admired for their pragmatism. Strangely, it's exactly the same as Labour has done, with its manifesto reverse on income tax, but it's going to bomb.  Blaming the Tories / Brexit / Covid / Putin ... none of it washes with the public anymore  - it wants to be sold a vision of the future, not reminded of the disasters of the past. Labour put itself on the back foot with its 'the tories fucked it all up' stance right at the beginning of its tenure.  All Lammy had to do (as with Reeves and Raynor etc) was say 'mea culpa. We've made a mistake, we'll fix it. Sorry guys, we're on it'. But instead it's 'nothing to see here / it's someone else's fault / I was buying a suit / hadn't been briefed yet'.  And, of course, the press smells blood, which never helps.  Oh! And Reeve's speech on Wednesday was so drab and predictable that even the journalists at the press conference couldn't really be arsed to come up with any challenging questions. 
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...