A GRAN got revenge by building a black fence after her neighbour allegedly refused to tear down her own 6ft-high barrier.
Heather Maxwell, 61, has taken drastic steps in her ongoing feud with her neighbour, resulting in a growing fence-building rivalry that has left her feeling scared and frustrated.
The trouble began eight years ago when Heather moved into her Enniskillen home and initially offered to mow her new neighbour’s front lawn.
But as Heather’s rheumatoid arthritis worsened, she could no longer maintain this kindness and stopped.
Things quickly soured when Heather’s neighbour borrowed her lawnmower multiple times without asking, leading to more tension.
In 2021, Heather’s request to trim her neighbour’s 16-foot-high back hedge, which was blocking her sunlight, was flatly refused.
The situation deteriorated further when, in June 2023, Heather’s neighbour erected a six-foot-high wooden fence between their gardens.
Heather was appalled, claiming the fence obstructed her view and posed a safety risk as she couldn’t see past it when leaving her drive.
After lodging complaints with the council, Heather’s neighbour’s fence was shortened but remained at its imposing height.
In retaliation, Heather built her own fence alongside it, painting it jet black. This move, however, only intensified the rivalry.
In August, Heather’s neighbour responded by painting her side of the fence in a bright, “wacky” blue.
Heather, who describes the blue fence as “ugly and imposing,” was outraged. She took to Facebook, calling her neighbour a “witch” and a “nightmare” over the garish paint job.
Heather described the events: “One day, she just started building this huge fence, and when I asked her about it, she said it was for herself and slammed the door.
“I told the council it was dangerous because I couldn’t see around it. I was worried someone might get hurt.”
Despite some adjustments to the fence’s length and height, Heather remains dissatisfied.
She complains that the blue paint job makes the fence even more obtrusive. “It’s not in keeping with the park. I can’t see anything from my living room window but this horrendous blue mass.
“It’s quite badly painted and looks like a patched-up mess,” Heather added.
Heather also feels the fence impacts her grandchildren’s safety.
She said: “I can’t let them play beyond the grass now because I can’t see any traffic or cars. It’s not safe for them anymore.”
The dispute has led Heather to seek a compromise.
She hopes her neighbour will agree to shorten and repaint the fence black, as she initially requested.
Heather said: “Neighbour disputes don’t get resolved overnight.
“Even if you’re turned down, keep going.”
Attempts to contact Heather’s neighbour for comment were unsuccessful, as the neighbour blocked the reporter on social media.
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council declined to comment, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed that no offences were detected after attending the property on August 27th.
As Heather continues to navigate this ongoing dispute, she remains hopeful for a resolution while urging others to remain patient and persistent in similar situations.
This heated row comes after a homeowner was left seething when they received a bill from their neighbour demanding £200 for the cost of their new fence.
Elsewhere, a disgruntled man was left fuming after his neighbour’s reaction to their newly installed privacy fence.
IT'S very important to know your rights if you are embroiled in a fence row with a neighbour.
How do I know which side I own?
A boundary feature can be a fence, wall, hedge, ditch, piece of wire, or sometimes even just the edge of a driveway.
The only way to know for certain who owns what side and to avoid any neighbour disputes, is to refer to the title plan or Land Registry.
In this, the T mark is used to indicate who the boundary belongs to and therefore who is responsible for its upkeep, say pros at Jacksons Fencing.
Larger developments tend to have some indication provided by the builder, but there are no hard and fast rules
People often think they are responsible for the left (or right) hand boundary wherever they live, but there isn’t any legal basis for this.
You can check with HM Land Registry to see which boundary feature you are responsible for.
Often households can’t get hold of the paperwork but experts say they shouldn’t panic.
Homeowners can guess who owns the fence by checking where the rails are.
Pros say: “The fence is typically facing away from their property so that their neighbour gets the ‘good’ side.
“This is the most secure way of facing fencing so there are no rails for anyone to use to climb into your garden.
“This is then repeated with the neighbour on the other side to ensure that each home has both a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fence side.”
Walls and fences are often built on the land of the boundary’s owner with the edge of the wall marking the limit.
While professionals agree a glimpse at the fence can give you a hint, it’s not foolproof – so you can’t be certain.
Fines and punishment
It is recommended to always check legal documents before making changes to avoid hefty fines.
There is no law that the neighbour has to get the good side of the fence, so it’s completely up to whoever owns the fence.
Fencing pros have suggested: “It may be worth selecting a double-sided panel with no ‘bad’ side as both sides look the same and rails are concealed within the fence panel.”
If one boundary backs onto a road or footpath you can install the panels with the rails on the inside
But if it’s installed on the outside, it can provide an “easy ladder for burglars to enter your garden”.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Property Litigation Association have created a mediation service to help neighbours resolve disputes over their property boundaries without resorting to court action.
RICS also provides a list of surveyors who could assist in boundary disputes.
If a dispute continues, it is ultimately a court that makes decisions, but they do not like such disputes being put before them.
Changing a boundary
If you want to change an existing boundary, such as replacing an old fence with a new one, we always recommend discussing with your neighbour first and making sure it is all agreed.
The registered titles can help you to reach an agreement, but only if this information has been added.
In terms of decorations on a fence legal advisers recommended asking around over who actually first installed it.
But they also urged caution before getting to work on amending the fence without getting more certainty yourself – since there is a danger of actually being prosecuted for criminal damage.
How high can a garden fence be?
The height of the fence is measured from your ground level, this can have an impact when, due to slopes in the ground, your garden may be at a higher level than your neighbours‘.
A garden fence can be as high as 100m but you need to get planning permission if it’s over than 2m.
However, there are some complications to this.
If you are thinking about front garden fences, restrictions state that fences alongside a driveway can be a maximum of 1m or 3ft.
You would need to get planning permission for putting a trellis on a fence of 2m.
But, if any plant that you grow on that trellis exceeds 2m, you do not need to obtain a permit for the growing plant.
