Lisa F
Mama Doe
Today we sent off a letter to the estate owner, apologising for not requesting permission for the shed in the first place. Explaining that it will be in no way used for living/sleeping in (!!!), which was one of her worries lol, and explaining (again) that when it is finished it will look loads neater than what was there before.
Basically, we grovelled. We figured we'd rather start out that way and get more heavy-handed later on if we need to. We know we have a fairly good case due there there being lots of other properties with one or more very large sheds (she can't demand we take ours down and let them keep theirs) and the fact that we meet all council planning permissions, meaning that she hasn't been able to give us a solid reason to remove it (which our leasehold agreement says she has to do).
Just to mess with her mind a bit more, we can prove that our shed is actually one of the only LEGAL sheds on the whole site, out of hundreds. This is because of a council regulation that says that a shed has to be made mostly of fire-proof materials if it is more than 1 metre from a property boundary. Every single shed on the estate sits exactly ON the boundary (as there is no where else for them) but they are all made entirely of wood (like your regular shed is). Ours, however, has a wooden frame but the rest of it is Hardiplank material, which is completely fire-resistant.
We also have her on trespassing and intimidation if the gloves REALLY have to come off, as, after a very careful reading of our leasehold agreement clearly says she is not allowed on our property except by prior arrangement unless it's an emergency. Not only did she come on to our property but she brought her assistant with her, who definately had no legal right to be on our property.
We have a few things to throw at her. I don't think she will make it easy for us and she will probably try to drag us to court (she has a history of doing that) but we still think we have a pretty solid case. Fingers crossed.
Basically, we grovelled. We figured we'd rather start out that way and get more heavy-handed later on if we need to. We know we have a fairly good case due there there being lots of other properties with one or more very large sheds (she can't demand we take ours down and let them keep theirs) and the fact that we meet all council planning permissions, meaning that she hasn't been able to give us a solid reason to remove it (which our leasehold agreement says she has to do).
Just to mess with her mind a bit more, we can prove that our shed is actually one of the only LEGAL sheds on the whole site, out of hundreds. This is because of a council regulation that says that a shed has to be made mostly of fire-proof materials if it is more than 1 metre from a property boundary. Every single shed on the estate sits exactly ON the boundary (as there is no where else for them) but they are all made entirely of wood (like your regular shed is). Ours, however, has a wooden frame but the rest of it is Hardiplank material, which is completely fire-resistant.
We also have her on trespassing and intimidation if the gloves REALLY have to come off, as, after a very careful reading of our leasehold agreement clearly says she is not allowed on our property except by prior arrangement unless it's an emergency. Not only did she come on to our property but she brought her assistant with her, who definately had no legal right to be on our property.
We have a few things to throw at her. I don't think she will make it easy for us and she will probably try to drag us to court (she has a history of doing that) but we still think we have a pretty solid case. Fingers crossed.