Am I in the wrong ?

It is his fence so he can do what he like with it, not very neighbourly though.

If it’s his fence then arguably you should not have been growing rambling roses up it. Maybe he thinks this has contributed to the demise of the fence? If he is replacing the fence it will be easier with nothing growing up it.

That's such a shame Beau. Could you put up a fence on your side or is that too expensive?
My DB had almost the same problem with his neighbour and a mutual fence which like yours was the responsibility of the neighbours.

In the end my DB got quotes for a new fence, showed these to the new neighbours who agreed to go ahead and share the costs.

His neighbours were not gardeners at all and had no idea how important it was to DB.
It's all done now and flowers are growing up the new fence.

How big is the gap? 10 inches? centimetres? you don't specify in your post.
As Avalon says, its his fence, and strictly speaking you shouldn't be using it to support your plants to technically you are in the wrong.
Darned annoying all the same. Can you plant a flowering shrub in front of the gap?

It's a shame your neighbour couldn't have handled the situation better Beau and I can understand why you're so angry about it.

Yes sorry it’s 10 inches. All the ivy and roses were there when we moved in. He’s told me not to grow anything up against it so I’ll just have to look at a boring fence now.

Best to resolve it peacefully.
You could put up a trellis type panel on your side, so it blocks out the view of the fence, but doesnt touch it.

Then you could have an absolute riot of plants growing.

How about a freestanding trellis with ground anchors, and use that to cover the gap, for your roses to grow up without touching the fence?

Great minds think alike MissA. Have a look on Pinterest Beau1958, if you type ‘freestanding trellis’ into the search bar lots of ideas come up.

Yes, please put a trellis up a few inches inside the boundary. It works well.

I agree with the trellis idea. Friends of ours have done that and it works really well.

You cannot grow anything against the fence, but you can plant something in front of it that will grow to hide the gap.

You say you have had to cut down your rambling roses, not that you have uprooted them. In my experience rambling roses will regrow so if you can erect some kind of support for them slightly in from next-door's fence, would that not mean you don't lose the roses altogether?

Why is a ten inch gap underneath a laurel a problem?

PS No, you're not in the wrong; you're just a bit pissed off, naturally. Your neighbour isn't technically in the wrong either though he could have been politer about it.

Good luck with your roses.

If I understand the post, you’ve been left with the old fence and he has put a new fence in front on his side? Or has he only replaced some of it.
If the former, I’d surreptitiously help the old fence to collapse.
If the latter I’d do as others have suggested. Put some lattice in front and have a climbing rose and clematis.
Your rambler will return, is it possible to give it an arch or obelisk to climb over?

What a nightmare. The only argument I’ve ever had with my next door neighbour in nearly fifty years was because of a fence that we had put up but turned out to legally belong to them.

This just popped up on Facebook
‘That means if you have a fence in your garden, the connecting neighbour must get your permission before painting or staining their side of the fence.

Plus, the neighbour can also not use that fence to grow trailing plants or any similar "activity which may cause it damage."

Lawsons adds: "As the owner, you must keep the fence in good repair and ensure that it is safe and does not present any danger to those around it."
The local farmer put up a fence round my garden and when he replaced it got angry with me for putting trellis up. It was all a bit confusing because I was responsible for that fence but he needed a fence that would keep his cattle in. At one time I had a fence inside his fence and when we said we wanted to take it down because it looked a mess ( he had put that fence up, too) he made my husband roll up the fence and take it to his house.

We had the same sort of thing a few years ago and it cost us quite a bit to renew. However I’ve got a nosey neighbour and renewing the fence on our side was the best thing we did!

The rambling rose and ivy harmed the fence... and since you had not paid for it, I do wonder why you are protesting...

The roses and ivy were there years before I moved in so no I never planted them they were just a beautiful feature in our garden and I’ve had to dig the rose out so no re growth I’m afraid.

Just the very fact he used the word ‘moan’ is a little red flag to me. He wouldn’t have said that to a man most likely. I would keep on mentioning it, and how he had taken the pleasure away from that part of your garden.

I don't understand about this gap. Has your neighbour made his own garden ten inches narrower?

If there's a gap that a dog could get through, then any livestock you might choose to have in the future, i.e. hens, would come to harm. There should be no gap and his fence should replace the old one and not encroach on your property.

If someone owns animals which may escape it is up to them, not their neighbours, to ensure that they can’t do so.