Pregnant hairdresser rowing with neighbours' over shared garden fence

Pregnant hairdresser, 32, is engulfed in row with new neighbours who built fence in shared back garden which ‘obstructs her pram and blocks off access for her elderly grandparents’

A pregnant hairdresser has been engulfed in a row with her grandparents’ neighbours after they built an obstructive fence in their shared back garden.

Mum-to-be Lorraine Smith, 32, from Oxgang, Edinburgh, regularly visits the home of her her elderly grandparents, both 78, via their back garden and gate.

She says her neighbours told both Lorraine and her grandparents about the build and they subsequently contributed £600 towards the £1,200 cost of it – but were not told that it would take up one metre of their land. 

The newly-built fence has left her unable to access their home as she normally does through the gate as well as making it difficult for her grandparents to use the steps.

Lorraine, who is only a month off giving birth to her first child, explains that the obstruction means she cannot get her buggy into the back green and it blocks off the entrance for her senior relatives.

Pregnant hairdresser Lorraine Smith, 32, from Oxgang, Edinburgh, has been engulfed in a row with her neighbours after they built a fence in their shared back garden

Mum-to-be Lorraine lives adjacent to her elderly grandparents who she regularly stays with and cares for, and accesses their home via their connecting back garden and gate. Her grandparents contributed £600 towards the £1,200 cost of it

After approaching the neighbours over the newly-built fence, Lorraine says her complaints have fallen on deaf ears and her grandparents have just been told to ‘deal with it.’

Speaking to Edinburgh Live, the part-time hairdresser said: ‘The neighbours haven’t even been living here for a year but my nana, who is 78, has lived there since she was 15.

‘As it’s an old coal mine house, the back garden is communal and so are the steps at the back of the property.

‘When they moved in last August they were told that is was a communal garden and was split in half so anything that they wanted to build had to be put in a letter to my grandparents.’

She went on to explain that on February 23, she headed into the house only to see the joiner building the fence.

‘They said they wanted their own privacy and couldn’t understand why it was a communal area anyway,’ Lorraine said.

‘My grandparents said that was fine, but now their access has been completely restricted.

‘When the joiner was building it, I went and knocked on their door but funnily enough nobody was in.

‘Later that night, I knocked again and they told me I was just looking for an argument and that the fence was built so I’d have to deal with it.’

Lorraine has taken images of the narrow passage between the back door and steps, saying it is not wide enough for a pram or for her granddad to get out, who regularly takes their dog to the park.

Lorraine continued: ‘They have literally taken up half of the steps with the fence and built their own, which makes no sense. They also charged my grandparents £600 for the fence.

The newly-built fence has left her unable to access their home as she normally does through the gate as well as making it difficult for her grandparents to use the steps

‘I’m getting advice from a lawyer and they are drafting up a letter to inform the family that the fence has to be moved further towards their porch or taken down.

‘My nana is in tears due to the whole situation and it’s so sickening as they have lived her their whole lives. I have tried to speak with the neighbours again.

‘They asked why I would need access with a pram to the garden but that’s nothing to do with them and it saves me walking all the way around to get access to the park.’

A spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council told the publication: ‘We are aware of this incident and are looking into it.’

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