New neighbours garden project

I totally agree, its your new neighbours perogative to do as they please with their property.

I most certainly let them know that you have nothing whatsoever to do with this petition, good neighbours are a blessing.
Some people are not happy unless they have something to moan about.

My friend was terribly upset when the buyers of her house did just that; removed the front garden and levelled it for parking because they had a shared drive and it was causing problems.
She remained friends with her previous neighbour, visiting regularly so saw all the renovations that were being done, and sadly took it all very personally.

Fanny so would I be upset if I were the new neighbour. It's even harder to be philosophical when you are a stranger going through such a stressful experience.

Do you think old people such as the petitioners can learn empathy?

I feel grateful that here we rarely see any neighbours because of all the trees and bushes. There certainly seems to be a few nasty ones around.

Caleo

It's not nasty. It's slightly hysterical. Few people intend to be unpleasant and usually only lack information or a wider perspective.

Thank you for your explanation Caleo
You make an excellent point.
I still think that it’s bang out of order though, but I’m coming at it how is feel if I were the new neighbour.
I’d know that I’d be really, really upset

Sounds a good outcome polly. Your new neighbours are proceeding with thought and care. Hopefully the instinctive objectors will mellow. A plant or two may pour some oil . You’ve trod a careful line. Good for you. I hope it all works out.

It's not nasty. It's slightly hysterical. Few people intend to be unpleasant and usually only lack information or a wider perspective.

Caleo I honestly don’t understand your above post.

Do you think that starting a petition about the actions of your new neighbours isn’t ‘nasty’?
It’s perfectly acceptable, and community minded; as opposed to: absolutely nothing to do with them?

Surely the petitioning neighbours are ‘initiating bad feeling’; not me!

Rubbish! It's not "unbelievably nasty". It was the action of two elderly women who take an interest in their neighbourhood, and simply needed to be agreed with, with the addition of the fact that the new people need to p;ark their cars. There is no need to add to a divisive initiative and every need to calm any bad feeling.

How unbelievably nasty of them!

I wouldn’t say anything to the nice new neighbours (yet) but I would be inclined to tell the other pair that they are being bang out of order.
If this happened to me, as a new neighbour, I would feel so unwelcome.
Do you think that many others will sign it Polly?
Honestly - I’m outraged!

It is good that you get on with your new neighbours and you have warned them about the others which is fair and all you can do. Keep right out of discussions with the other lot !

I have a large front'garden' with possible parking for five cars if they are careful.

I'm partisan to gravel which can be wilded and still form a dry and hard enough base for cars. Gravel allows all the surface water to penetrate with no run off, and is also safe to walk on when there is ice on the roads.

Polly Dolly I think you have made new friends how nice!

I agree that it is up to the owners. However, this post reminded me of a recent discussion I had with a new arrival to our village who asked what it used to be like. Having lived here for over forty years, I remarked that once it was a very pretty village with gardens one enjoyed looking at but alas, all we grow in our gardens now are cars. My neighbour has four cars and a van!

They sound like lovely neighbours. The old interferers just need a few people to tell them where to stick their complaints and petition.

How lovely to have nice new neighbours.

Thank you all for your comments etc. Well, I have had a long chat over coffee with one of the new neighbours today. I have seen their design for the renovated from garden and it looks fabulous on paper.

All materials used are up to specification so no worries on that score GNetters. They have approached the Council who advised that there is no problem with the proposed work.

I brought the conversation around to the 'dinosaur' mentality amongst the other neighbours nonchalantly touching on the conversation from yesterday and the new couple are now in the know so they won't get caught on the back foot when the work starts next week.

I was also told this morning that I could have first pick of any plants from their garden if I wished before they allow the rest of the street to do the same rather than them going into the skip, which I think is rather nice of them.

I think it's standard everywhere now that any paving has to be permeable - we had resin put down on our drive a few years ago and had a long discussion with the people who did it. Of course that depends on whether the people who do the work are reputable and tell their customers what is needed. Many of the drives near us are being slowly changed to block paving with new drainage put in on sloping drives. They were all tarmac when we moved in.

Interesting information about paviours, Elegran. Thank you. Someone I know may have to have part of her front garden made into a parking area, and she will be keen to use something which allows drainage, so I will pass that on to her.

Chardy, there is already a dropped kerb in place which had been extended from the original one that serves the existing driveway. OH and I think it must have been done many years ago. The new neighbours will only need to remove the front fencing to give access.

Your new neighbours will need to apply for a dropped kerb. Does anyone who's done that know if the busybodies can object to the Council?

Thanks PollyDolly. People's unspoken desires interest me.
I too like my neighbourhood to be kept nice to look at, and the petitioners have their hearts in the right place in this regard. However people have different ideas of what looks beautiful, which the petitioners may be unaware of.

And of course the owner has rights within the law. Elegran's and Avalon's info about drainage issues is generally interesting from the point of view of saving and disposal of water, and I am glad to know it.

Caleo, they are objecting because, and I quote, "Mr YYY and his wife always kept the garden beautiful and they simply CANNOT be allowed to dig it up"! To which I said the new people owned the house now and could do as they liked, I also. pointed out that it would enable them to park their car off the road.

The new neighbours do tend the garden at present but their main concern is to be able to have both vehicles off the road, quite a few house owners have done this over the years, including myself. The new neighbours are leaving the boundary border alone, there is ample space otherwise, so there will still be a small garden of sorts.

It was the expectation that I should speak to the new neighbours that riled me most and when I discovered there was to be a petition I was furious. I want no part in it as it is so unfair.

One of the new neighbours is at home today and I am going to invite her in for a coffee and explain what's going on, I need them both to know that I have no part in all this. Seemingly, these two vindictive people have a past history for mischief making as they don't like change and are of the mentality that they've lived here the longest and we should all do their bidding.

Changing not chancing

They will need planning permission to drop the kerb. They should not need any other permission provided they use permeable materials. Otherwise they cannot be prevented from chancing their garden into parking so it is not only futile to start a petition but will just cause bad feeling. It’s never going to be the same as the previous owners. They could let weeds grow sky high. Hard standing will be much neater.You are right to keep out of it PollyDolly.