Fence height causing privacy issues

PhotiniaPrincess

Morning all, I've recently moved into a new build property and the fences were already erected when we moved in. We are joined by a boundary to 4 different properties but one of them has now raised the level of their garden in order to make it level and they can now see straight into our garden. We now have a water logged section of ground next to their boundary and it seems likely that this is connected to this issue. The height of the fence is now less than 5ft from there side (5 ft 10" from our side) and I feel somewhat uncomfortable with this. I don't particularly want to plant trees or conifers along the boundary as it will take the sun off their garden but I need something doing as this will cause problems in the future. Any advice on how to resolve this issue please?

TenN

The waterlogging should calm down once their ground settles a bit, we had a similar thing in our old house when neighbours raised their beds. One upshot was two dogwoods suddenly started doing well. In terms of privacy could you get some trellis and climbers up there? Benefits for you in terms of vertical interest and avoids a conflict with the neighbours.

B3

They might well plant something their side of the fence and your problem will be solved. Why don't you ask them what they intend to do? Have a chat to them over the fence.

jenny794

Can you post a picture for us so we can get a better feel for the height and width you are trying to cover?

PhotiniaPrincess

They're not planting anything. They've just had astroturf put down and a patio laid. 

barry island

The best thing to do is to speak to your neighbours and tell them what your concerns are, I know that it can be a bit hit and miss speaking to neighbours and they may not respond in the way that you will like but it should be the first step, you may be pleasantly surprise by their response. Good luck.

B3

If they have astroturf what you grow won't affect anything they want to grow. Deciduous plants might be an irritant though. They might also appreciate not being able to see into your garden😉

PhotiniaPrincess

It looks really tall from our side but if you see that post on their side diving them between their house and the one below, that is 6ft tall. Their patio however sits level with the top of their concrete panel and as high as the bottom set of nails on our fence as they've covered the lowest baton. I can see their whole head and shoulders when their stand there it's no taller than 4ft 10" in that lowest corner. I'm told you need planning permission to raise the level of your garden, even if you have decking put down.

MuddyFork

You can only hope that they are not relying on the fence to hold all the new material back.  If they have after heavy rain you could find their back garden on top of yours.  A fence is not strong enough to hold back soil.  I'm not aware of any planning requirements regarding raising the height of your garden.

PhotiniaPrincess

This is the entire length of the fence

Joy*

I don't know about planning permission but I doubt it. Have they covered the bottom of the wooden fence with soil? If they have, the wood will eventually rot - that's why gravel boards (concrete panels) are used at the base. It does seem unreasonable for your neighbours to raise the level of their garden to such a height. As you are in a new build (so are we) perhaps you could speak to the builder to find out whether anyone is allowed to radically change the garden in this way. Heights of fences etc will probably have been included as part of the planning permission/building regulations or put into the deeds for the property. From what I remember, our deeds state categorically that we aren't allowed to plant trees nor keep chickens! Tread carefully and do your research or things could get messy. Your neighbours might not care about what they have done so if you're not able to do anything having investigated all avenues, I wouldn't worry about doing something to maintain your privacy even if you do shade their garden.