Planned utilities.

[trigger_andy]

So Im having a discussion with my neighbour and some of you guys might be able to help.

 

My neighbour and I share a Driveway. I own part of it and he owns the rest. He was under the impression he owned all the Driveway but has accepted (after some legal advice) that he does not in fact own the section I have said all along is mine. Anyway, as he thought he owned my section of the Driveway, and the small strip of land on the other side of the drive closest to his property he planned on running utilities, ie Water and Electric from the Main Road up to the Barn Conversion he is doing along side the Driveway he now accepts is mine. He is still under the impression he is still running his utilities here but knows I have reservations. He only informed me he intended running his utilities over my land when he seen me digging a hole to install Gate posts. He said I cant install Gate posts there, there thats where he'll be running his utilities. 

 

The Brown section is my Drive (and strip of land) and the Blue Section is teh same drive, just his section of it. 

 

The strip of land he is planning on installing the Utilities (1 meter deep) is sandwiched between the Driveway and some tree's. These tree's are 2 meters away from the driveway. The Trees are a mix, including some Scots Pine and sycamore. The Scots Pine has to be 50-60 feet. As he thought the land was his he had no intention of informing me of this. But obviously now he has.

 

The Trees themselves are smack bang on the Boundary line. We've not even looked into ownership yet. 

 

My (long winded ) question is; Is there a danger in digging a 1 meter deep trench along a row of trees within 2 meters of them now or in the future? Would this cause the trees to be significantly weakened and have a real potential for them to blow over? Or die? If they fell they would easily fall on my house, and theirs depending on which way they went of course.  Basically he wants to sink his utilities roughly where that 8" Oak Post is now. 

 

In the plan below Ive drawn (badly) in Yellow where he plans on running the utilities. The Black dots are kinda where the trees are. 

[trigger_andy]

39 minutes ago, Stubby said:

Andy . You are being very tolerant and reasonable . Don't let the .... walk over you matey , please . 

Thanks, which believe it on not I generally am. Ive left things for months to ensure I was very calm and collected when I raised anything with him. It generally ended with him taking the hump and occasionally storming off. He accused me of playing dumb recently, because I never said to him 'you're working on my property and I dont like it',  I said I think we've got a bit of a misunderstanding over where the boundary lies and so as not to step on each others toes I think we should investigate it. He said I knew fine well he was working on my property so why did I not just say so. Cant win really.

 

Ive been firm with him when I was home last. Let him know exactly what I thought and expected now. 

 

He came out one evening when I was digging the holes for the Gate Posts. Told me that he's giving me a heads up as he plans to get legal advice on me installing gates on my property as it affects his right of way. Seems like its BS but I said I'll leave it just now and we can come back to it at a later date when we're both a bit more level headed. Since then he's stopped taking the Lorries up my drive, he now has them sit at the road-side and drives a fork lift up his own drive. 

 

so in a way there is some progress. But it feels like a tinder box. They no longer walk down our drive to the forest near by, which they used to when they though they owned it. They have a legal right to use it and its never bothered us anyway. But the wife wont look either me or my wife in the eye now.

[trigger_andy]

50 minutes ago, gary112 said:

He sounds like a cock to me Andy,tell him to get f&&ked and put it on his own land and see how he likes that

Might come to that. Rather just work it out to be honest. But I'll not be walked over, I don like the vailed threats either. they seem to be sticklers for the law, which is all well and good. Everything they do they seem to have taken or will take legal advice on. I know for a fact if they could force me to do their bidding though legal action they would. 

[trigger_andy]

46 minutes ago, eggsarascal said:

Let's try the amicable way as far as possible, Andy has to live next to the bloke for however long, I realise some people are pricks but neighbourly disputes tend to grow. Throw him as many bones as you can afford before it gets really nasty. There usually is a work around if you can hold your patience, rum coming from me I know.

I do try. Im always/was always offering him help with stuff, offering him use of my tools and equipment. Offering him the use of the Stump Grinder when I have it in, offering to move stuff with the Avant when I have it in. Simply not interested. They very much want to be left to it it seems. But where the boundary is and how its uses is on their terms only. Or so they thought. 

 

Ive told him we need open communication so issues like this dont arise. He seems to get that more now,. 

[trigger_andy]

36 minutes ago, monkeybusiness said:

Did you buy your place off him?

The whole plot was owned by a Lady who inherited it all. We started to rent the House 5 years ago. The Cottage next to us sat empty. She sold the Cottage first and the Estate Agent put up the new boundary. 

 

We asked to buy the House, but she was not interested initially and over the next couple of years warmed to the idea. We bought at a later date. 

[trigger_andy]

36 minutes ago, donnk said:

If there is no other way to get utilities to the build  other than across your land then you have him by the balls and its squeezing time. Ransom strip is what you have. 

 

Id be looking at a bare min of £15k to allow it depending on how well you get on with them.

 

 

hmmmm, interesting. £15k would be handy.  

 

 

Im sure he can run the utilities up his own drive, he just wants to use mine as its cheaper and he thought it was his. 

[trigger_andy]

17 minutes ago, Paul in the woods said:

One thing I would add is don't forget the maintenance if you do allow them to use your land. If there's a leak in the future and you've perhaps widened your drive, do you want them to be able to dig it all up to repair their services? What if they sell up etc?

Yes, all good points. There seems very little in way of reasons for me to allow him to do it. Especially for free. 

 

He might have changed his mind now anyway and will run them up his own drive to save the hassle. He certainly would not tell me that if he had. 

[eggsarascal]

4 minutes ago, trigger_andy said:

I do try. Im always/was always offering him help with stuff, offering him use of my tools and equipment. Offering him the use of the Stump Grinder when I have it in, offering to move stuff with the Avant when I have it in. Simply not interested. They very much want to be left to it it seems. But where the boundary is and how its uses is on their terms only. Or so they thought. 

 

Ive told him we need open communication so issues like this dont arise. He seems to get that more now,. 

I had one with my last neighbour, I told him the old fence (mine) was coming out next year and a new one going in, and I'd be trenching to put in rabbit netting, (my place backed on to a branch line), the cock planted a load of fruit trees on the boundary, we dug them out, got the fence in and replanted. All sorted out in the wash.

[Dan Maynard]

Other thing with them across your land, if he sells to someone unreasonable then the problems down the line could be worse. Likewise if you wanted to sell for any reason a buyer might be put off and then it's cost you more than £15k.

[trigger_andy]

21 minutes ago, eggsarascal said:

I had one with my last neighbour, I told him the old fence (mine) was coming out next year and a new one going in, and I'd be trenching to put in rabbit netting, (my place backed on to a branch line), the cock planted a load of fruit trees on the boundary, we dug them out, got the fence in and replanted. All sorted out in the wash.

No tree's died then?

[mr kipling]

When we ran utilities across some land we owned but planned to sell we had to have a legal agreement drawn up. It may have been called a way leave agreement, it was a few yrs ago but solicitor insisted on it as the owners of the new house we built may need access to their services running through their neighbours driveway