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Our neighbour, Bob the builder has just started another building extension. This doesn't have planning although might not need it, but he's already got a 'habitable' brick building that doesn't have planning at the end of his garden. He's currently removed the old conservatory and is removing foundations.
All the building rubble has been piled on jointly owned land opposite my house. He's history for leaving rubble from other jobs on this land - last time he left stuff there for over a year, then added more, which was then reported as kids were climbing on it (just so happened to be his own kids).
How long is it reasonable for us to put up with building rubble that's four foot high, and stretched 20-30 feet along the shared land ? A few months is OK, but any more we won't be happy.
PS the guy is a nasty bit of work - perfectly fine until you complain, and he's a history of disturbing neighbours constantly.
I don't think Building Regs covers disposal of waste from ongoing works - they do cover disposal of waste generated by use of the building (such as waste water etc).
You're more getting into reasonable use of land and potentially nuisance territory - when you say jointly owned, do you mean by him and you? Or both of you and others?
Basically if he's acting in such a way as to deprive you/other co-owners of your use and enjoyment of the common land, it may be a nuisance, but that could be a very expensive and lengthy process to go down for very little benefit, particularly if he's known to be problematic to people who complain!
Another option might be to contact the planning dept - if he doesn't have permission to tip waste there, it might be a breach of planning and/or environmental regs but not sure.
We're in a cul de sac, and the houses are quasi terraces, with 12 houses. The land between two of the blocks, and the six parking spaces are jointly owned between all 12 houses - we keep the parking spaces next to our house maintained/clear.
Environmental health maybe?
As ever a picture would help.
https://www.gov.uk/how-to-resolve-neighbour-disputes/complain-about-noise-to-the-council/blockquote >
Is the rubble having a rave?
Isn't this fly tipping?
If in England its the Environment Agency, in Scotland its SEPA. However the local authority may have something to say about it as well as they have powers. You can store waste in an area you control for up to (I think) 12 months. But there are controls on the volumes depending on the waste. If its not on your land or land you control its fly tipping, even if you have permission. Otherwise the landowner is accepting waste onto your land without a permit...
It's fly tipping on his own land(partly). Private land is extremely expensive to police with fly tipping.
You need it to be a health hazard for the local council to get involved rats ect.
Tell the tight fit to rent a skip or grab hire
There should be some kind of agreement or covenant on the management of the jointly owned land. What does it say?
Covenant says we're to jointly maintain the various shared land.
Picture. Land from the tree near the lamp post is 'shared'
Not on then. Time for a neighbourhood posse, sorry, word with him.
ha ha what a dick, I'd be having a word
Assuming the transit is outside his property, he probably thinks the land is his .
Does he go on holiday at all ?
Chip in together with the rest of the residents and get a mobile crusher in to make it all into hardcore, then sell it as a job lot to cover the cost.
Or if that's "trade waste" and he does not have a licence then that might be an avenue to look down.
It's storing waste the quantities and type described would fall under an exemption (rather than requiring a permit) but there don't appear to be any control measures in place so I think it'd fall foul. EA would be the route to complain.
Tricky one, like you I wouldn't be too bothered about that if it were just for a couple of months (the earth piling up around the corner bit is a bit of a piss take though). Given he's been unreasonable in the past I'd probably take the weasley option and leave it for now and hope it was cleaned up within a couple of months and if not have words then about what his plans for it were.
If he is planning to remove it soon then confronting him now is just going to put his back up and risk hassle (for something that's a bit of an eyesore but not particularly bad). If he's planning to leave it there permanently then I don't think you hurt your case for trying to do something about it later, other than having had to put up with it for a couple of extra months.
Growing by the wheel barrow load. He's got to hand ball this into a skip at some point. Let's say he's an unreasonable barsteward. Threattened to punch my lights out a couple of years ago - I'm only 5"9', and he was still smaller than me two steps up. It's the direct neighbours I feel sorry for.
Hmm, that's deffo not on. I suppose it all depends on the appetite you and your neighbours have for a dispute.
I would say if that land doesn't belong to him alone and he hasn't sought permission then it is a nuisance and you/your neighbours would be at liberty to intimate a claim against him and/or seek an injunction for the removal of the waste.
However, I think you're probably looking at £20k+ to secure an injunction, so you'd all have to decide whether or not the inconvenience was worth it.
If it were me, I'd be having a polite word to ascertain how long he intended it use the land for 'temporary' storage, and hint that if it goes over that you'll be clubbing together to hire a licensed waste removal company and then recovering the cost from him.
It looks like it's a private road on an estate - is there anything in the title register for the properties which requires residents to keep the area in good repair? If you're occupying under long leases and there is, you might be able to get the freeholder to exert some pressure.
The road is 'adopted' by the council. The shared spaces, that land, 3 parking spaces opposite, and shared land/another three partking spaces are the responsibility of the residents to look after. I maintain the three spaces as they are adjoining my land, and it's my laurels that need trimming regularly.
So far logged it with fly tipping as it's encroaching onto the footpath. The council were round like a shot last time (after we'd let him leave rubble there for months, but it started getting out of hand when he dumped a load of insulation down - council had 'words' and it got shifted.
I'd assume he should be managing that lot straight into a skip - he had a skip there a couple of weeks ago, but that was full of rubble from other clients - was bailing it from his van to the skip. Going to be an ar$e of a job getting that lot into a skip or 4 now.
Have a look to see if he has a waste carriers licence, if not shop him for that instead… then he won’t be bringing it back in the first place!
Give him chance - perhaps he's building a nice rockery!
Soon it'll all be covered in lovely Alpine plants.
I would be asking the Environment Agency to have a look at that. They tend to have deeper pockets than the council and once on their radar he's in for a hard time. Also running an unlicensed Waste Transfer Station to go with the lack of a Carriers License (unloading from van into a skip) can be a bit costly.
Why don't you just ask him next time you see him - 'Hi mate, assume you're getting that picked up by a grab waggon once you've brought it all round from the back ? When's that gonna be because it looks a mess' ? If doesn't get it sorted, just order one in his name. - Tell the grab wagon company, the site manager will be paying cash to the driver.
Looking at the photos it's a pee take. But only 10 mins with a grab hire lorry.
The road being adopted makes a huge difference with the county council. Can you not log it on the council portal they like an easy to prove fly tip
Nobody needs to be looking at that ! I would go with the assumption that a lorry with a grab will be removing it.
As it is jointly owned you may want to make the point that that it should have been used by agreement off all.
EA will not be interested.
The guy is an absolute ar$e. There is no reasoning with him full stop. I'm monitoring it 'growing'.
It's growing
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Go for the grab hire in his name and use the Klarna buy now pay later loophole (different billing and delivery name and address saw it on Joe lycett)
So basically he is using shared private land to store rubble, his rubble, for his business, and the private land doesn't belong to his business, no need to pay for somewhere to put it.
Meanwhile you are responsible for the upkeep of that bit of land, it belongs to the residents so residents problem, the local council should be able to advise but little they can do on private ground.
H's basically ripping the arse out of it, as many do, he's quite an extreme one, probably because no one seems to mind, I think if you go back to your covenant thing it should tell you who actually is responsible for 'enforcement', I'm presuming the builder of the estate handed it over in your terms and conditions to residents.
Lawyer time.
Doesn't look like that land is maintained much.
How about in future the 12 of you (or 11) club together for a gardener to upkeep, plant some nice flowers, lay turf and cut the lawn.
Then perhaps he won't do it again.
All your neighbour troop out tomorrow morning start handballing it into his garden. When he kicks off point out you have the man power to keep up with him.
He had one grab turn up mid week to remove the soil, but that was it. The area is full again with brick. I'll leave it be.
The area isn't maintained well - I used to do it, but packed it in when nobber moved in. He occasionally gets his son to weed it - it was clear a few months back, then all the furns grew.
The neighbours won't club together. I do the area at the side of our house.
Given how much went into the grab, I reccon he'll need at least 3 loads. Funny, how when he built the neighbour's extension, all waste was straight in a skip.
This is really depressing to read, I wouldn't be able to tolerate it, presumably he is selling the soil or using it for a job, effectively that is now his rubble yard, you have to ask is this a temporary thing or is this just the start? it looks like the latter.
My wife, at least says it doesn't wind her up. He has history. Poor Janet next door to knobber is stressed out of her head - that was before this lot. I'll pop over to see her.
Brief update, no attempt to remove any waste, and he's just piling more up. Sent an enquiry to the EA asking for advice, with photos. The 'weeds' have died back now. He didn't make this mess when he did the extension for a neighbour - oh yeh, they were paying for disposal. Two months now.
Lets hope EA could assist.
Would local council have any influence - this is basically fly-tipping after all?
Not sure if its fly tipping if its shared private land, so council would have no jurisdiction.
It's a tricky one - I contacted the council a fair while back and within days, he had a grab to remove the soil, but that was it. It's a mess - I'm surprised his missus puts up with it. The neighbour next door has had enough, but she's terrified of him. I'll see what the EA say as waste should be managed properly. It's going to cost him at some point !
I’d assume he should be managing that lot straight into a skip – he had a skip there a couple of weeks ago, but that was full of rubble from other clients – was bailing it from his van to the skip. Going to be an ar$e of a job getting that lot into a skip or 4 now
Our neighbour, Bob the builder has just started another building extension. This doesn’t have planning although might not need it, but he’s already got a ‘habitable’ brick building that doesn’t have planning at the end of his garden. He’s currently removed the old conservatory and is removing foundations
He's a tight arse. I'll put money on him having skips for customers waste dropped outside his house so he can use them to get rid of the customers waste and his over the coming months/year. Saves him having to pay for skips for his rubbish, and he gets away with it using threats and intimidation.
I’ll put money on him having skips for customers waste dropped outside his house so he can use them to get rid of the customers waste and his over the coming months/year.
Presumably he'd need a waste carriers licence to move the waste from site to his house.
a waste carriers licence to move the waste from site to his house
and a waste storage licence to store it there - or to have registered an exemption with the EA
Presumably he’d need a waste carriers licence to move the waste from site to his house.
and a waste storage licence to store it there – or to have registered an exemption with the EA
You'd hope so...
You'd also hope that the EA would consider it their duty to take action if they find out he doesn't have them or isn't conforming to the conditions... but will they?
You’d also hope that the EA would consider it their duty to take action if they find out he doesn’t have them or isn’t conforming to the conditions… but will they?
unlikely under the conservatives vision of the country:
The Environment Agency (EA) has too little money to carry out its enforcement work effectively, a letter obtained by The Times has said.
According to the newspaper, EA chair Emma Howard Boyd last August wrote to Environment Secretary George Eustice to warn that funding cuts meant England’s environmental performance was deteriorating.
In the letter, obtained under Freedom of Information legislation, The Times reported Ms Howard Boyd saying cuts of more than half to the EA’s enforcement budget had come on top of new statutory duties.
“All this is allowing more people and businesses to break the environmental rules”, she said, adding “serious waste criminals are taking advantage: the Environment Agency is now finding illegal waste sites as fast it can close down existing ones”.
Yeah, as it's private land it'll be up to the owners to pay for disposal of fly-tipped waste - makes it a nice cheap job for him divided by 11! maybe that was his plan all along.
How is Janet bearing up?
When I had a similar issue with rubble/building materials being stored on the road/footpath for months and an open pit with no fence round. I just emailed my local councillors and asked who or what I should talk to/do as I didn't know which property the mess belonged to. They passed it on to someone, or other who went around and chased the bugger and it all got sorted out sharpish.
There's still a massive hole in the ground but at least there's some fence round it, and the rubble and gravel has all been tidied away.
^ You had a load of rubble and a hole that needs filling, surely there was a better solution?