Brits going to warfare over their sheds as folks constructing large outhouses in gardens
Brits are going to war with their neighbours – over their sheds. Homeowners are kitting out their spaces as gyms, offices and makeshift extensions.
Experts say the number of people building luxury sheds has “probably gone up tenfold” since Covid. But it causing friction with neighbours who say the “intrusive” buildings are knocking thousands of their property value.
Linda, who didn’t want to give her last name, told how her neighbours have fallen out with her after she build a shed in her garden to work in. While she loves the countryside views from her window and the quiet room to work, her neighbours hate its size and position.
Experts say the number of luxury sheds has rocketed in recent years(Image: PinPep)
At 7.25 metres by 2.74 metres, they say it is at least a metre too tall and too close to their house to have been built without planning permission.
They say they can see it from every window of their home and they “had lost all sense of privacy, which had affected their mental wellbeing.” They also claimed an estate agent told them it had negatively affected the value of their home.
Linda says it was an “honest mistake” and she was given the wrong guidance from her builders, adding: “I was mortified. I would never have done it intentionally.”
A growing number of Brits are using their outbuildings as houses(Image: PinPep)
She has been granted retrospective planning permission on the condition she erects a a privacy screen and other planting. But she confessed: “I wish we had known to go about it the right way; it would have saved us money and a heck of a lot of effort and time.”
The row is part of a growing number of disputes over outhouses, experts say. Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour was ordered to move a shed in his garden in upmarket Hampstead, north London, last year after it was described as “intrusive” and “overbearing” by neighbours.
Simon Rix, a senior planning consultant, said the number of clients who wanted to build luxury sheds has “probably gone up tenfold” since Covid. And as well as gyms and office spaces, many are using them as granny flats.
Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour was ordered to move a shed in his garden(Image: Camden Council / SWNS)
He said: “Quite a lot of people are coming to me because they want to move into it and let their children live in the main house. Neighbours get really grumpy, because they can be quite tall and imposing.
“Neighbours frequently assume that if something looks large, blocks a view or sits right on the fence line, it must be illegal.
“Homeowners often wrongly assume: ‘It’s my garden, I can do what I want.’ This gap in understanding, combined with the post-pandemic boom, is creating a perfect storm for neighbourhood disputes.”
