Our Garden Just Got Bigger

Our planning application to build a first floor extension is taking its course with worryingly few objections.   Just one in fact - from our neighbours in the Old Vicarage to the rear of the tower.   It is a  blunderbus of a document listing sixteen points of objection.    They have rather thrown the book at us and included obvious things like privacy through to such things a risk of flooding and damage to tree roots.   Most of the objections are answered in our application, design and access statement, plans etc.   That is slightly annoying as it takes a huge amount of time to put in a valid planning application in which one seeks to address possible problems before they arise.   Anyway, Thank God, we live in the sort of land where the citizen can object.

One serious point of objection relates to the relocation of our existing summer house / hut from the top corner of the rear garden to a wider area to the north, adjoining the vicarage wall:

click to enlarge

The existing location of the hut is the dotted area top right.   It is in the way of the new extension so must move.   The only nearby alternative is shown in pink as 'repositioned hut' at a point by the rear wall where there is an obtuse angle which gives rise to enough space for it.  Just.

It could have stayed in its original location but if it was moved hard up against the southern wooden fence and the eastern rear wall there would be no room to walk round it.   Even then its overhanging eaves would have over hung the extension roof unsatisfactorily.   Architect Stuart Green, who already refers to is as a Wendy House would throw a wobbly and be unable to hold his head high in the architectural world again.

So, the hut proves to be a big problem which could end up scuppering the whole thing.

But - the otherwise beautiful new Stationside apartment block on the other side of our fence is surrounded by wilderness that none of the residents wants to buy.   Unsurprising as it is virtually inaccessible and unseen from within the building.   Maybe I could seek to buy a metre or so on the far side of our fence and shuffle the hut over what is presently our boundary?

Hang on though.   When we erected the fence we had to guess about its Land Registry line.   Les Brewer who built the fence had to negotiate dense trees and hostile undergrowth so he dug the holes and concreted in the posts as best he could.   Precision was then irrelevant and we agreed to err on the side of caution if in doubt.   Better to have the fence on our land than risk later problems if it strayed onto the adjoining owner's land.   Here is the Land Registry's official red boundary:

It is the straight red line at the base of the triangle.   The part of that straight line at right angles to the station drive is in no doubt - it is a very straight sectional concrete wall.   Here it is, looking from the station drive end:

The hut at the top of the banking is obvious.   So too is the the fact that the fence running up the embankment appears to be off line to the left.   Just how much off line is clearer in the view below with the camera actually on top of the concrete wall,   The fence is away to the left by about a metre - just the amount needed to solve our problem:

There is even a distinct kink in the fence for good measure.

No need to buy the land - we bought it already back in 2010!   There should now be no need to drastically reposition the hut as planned.   Just shuffle it sideways on our own land - subject of course to an amendment to our planning application.   Been there before and got the T shirt.   Hey ho.

The exact start and finish points of the realigned fence are a bit tricky to define because the concrete wall has had the odd knock around the area of our Sidings gates but I look forward to agreeing a reasonable line with the neighbours so that the look of the thing is right.