A MUM who watched her neighbours build a home to close to her own is fuming the council won’t do anything about it.
Niki Caira was horrified when she realised how close luxury homes were going to be to her house in Thorton, Fife, and immediately contacted her local authority to complain – but got nowhere.
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Niki and husband Mario objected to the planning application for the two £350,00 properties in 2020, however, they were given the go-ahead by Fife Council in June last year.
When building work started next door to her Scotland home in May, the mum-of-seven said she felt like her family’s privacy had been invaded.
The aesthetics practitioner, has lived at her home with her children, husband Mario and mum Mhairi for the last 16 years.
She described it as their “wee sanctuary” and their “happy place”, but says she now fears they will be forced to move out over concerns for their safety and lack of privacy.
Niki added: “We absolutely loved our home, but now I just feel stressed every time I look out of my windows. It’s such a shame
because we were all so happy living here until now.”
Fife Council originally said the homes had been built within approved planning permissions,
But the local authority recently confirmed to Niki it has been built 4cm closer to the boundary than originally thought, she claims.
The local council said it is however still within the degree of tolerance and therefore they will not be taking any further action.
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She previously said the family felt as if they had “zero privacy”.
Niki said: “I can’t even sit on my toilet without worrying that I’m going to be exposing myself or that someone is going to be looking in at me or my children.
“I just have to open the window and I can actually touch my next door neighbour’s house. It’s ridiculous.”
‘NEW AREAS OF CONCERN’
Fife Council’s head of planning Pam Ewen told the Daily Record: “The council is content that the measurements taken meet the relevant planning and building regulations.”
Ms Ewen said: “Any boundary disputes are private legal issues for the parties involved to resolve. Land ownership is not related to the granting of planning permission.
“No enforcement action has been taken to date. However new areas of concern have been raised with us this week and we are looking into these.”
She said planning and building regulations have been followed throughout this build.
What are the boundary rules in the UK?
If you live in England or Wales, there’s usually no record of the exact boundary between two properties or who owns the hedge, wall, tree or fence between 2 properties.
Boundary lines vary on a case by case basis – it’s not always true that your boundary is on a particular side of your property.
You can get an idea of where the boundaries for your property are by looking at its title plan. Most title plans don’t show exact boundaries – you usually don’t need to have the exact boundaries recorded anywhere.
Homeowners can usually avoid having to create a boundary agreement by having an informal discussion with your neighbour.
You and your neighbour can create a ‘boundary agreement’ to record:
- the boundary between 2 properties
- who’s responsible for maintaining a hedge, wall, tree or fence between 2 properties
Niki said the stress of the situation has caused her to lose two stone in weight, taking her down to 6st 11lbs.
Former chairman of Raith Rovers Alex Penman, whose company is building the properties, is now suing Niki for defamation of character, after claiming a comment she made on social media caused him to lose tens of thousands of pounds worth of business.
The 70-year-old’s lawyers served Niki with court papers last month.
They are alleging Niki made comments about Mr Penman on Facebook which attracted significant attention and as a result have defamed his character which has resulted in a loss of earnings, injury and damages to the total of £75,000.
They claim the situation also caused Penman distress and embarrassment.
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