Garden wall

[SteveT]

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?

[candj]

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

[SteveT]

-- moved topic --

[macroban]

A cigarette tree would help make things look right.

[red devil]

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...

[matthew123]

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."

[Xena Worried prince]

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.

[matthew123]

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."

[SteveT]

Thank you all for your input it has been very helpful.

candj I shall have some troughs made for the bamboo, so it can't run amok.

Thanks again.

[Xena Worried prince]

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.

[red devil]

Garden trees/shrubs grown in pots and troughs will be restricted in growth as the root system can't spread, hence the term 'pot bound'...

[woofmarkthedog]

Just throw the damn butts back.....

Failing that post some dog sh*t through her letter box and the other neighbor for good measure......

............that "ll learn 'em

[bigbadwolf]

Good lad Woof.

[Xena Worried prince]

I actually agree with Woof too concerning throwing the butts back over... but not the gift through the door.

Woof - reminds me of the 'Flaming bag of poo' trick

[AllforNun]

laylandii and lots of them, threaten to decorate over christmas, just the side facing your neighbours, with common light bulbs and instead of a fairy top them with giant cigarette butts .

Alternatively put up a trellis with a climber on it, i think that would get round planning.

[*Bob*]

No wonder ITV's 'When Neighbours Collide' (or whatever it's called) is up to series 18.

[Moos]

We could get quite creative with the neighbourly war! If you want to go really mental, consider planting a tree with poisonous fruits that just happens to lean over the fence*.

*Disclaimer: if anyone actually does this, they are insane and I didn't tell them to.

[bigbadwolf]

Air rifle?

[SteveT]

The ideas in this thread are hotting up.

Allfornun I must ask the planner before I add anything else but I shall give it a go.

Moos, whats a little insanity amongst friends, Laburnam has dodgy seeds?

Bigbadwolf, isn't it a little early in this dispute for the big guns?