McDonald’s DESTROYED my fence and dug a ‘disgusting’ 15ft ditch right by my bedroom – I’ve put up a sign to shame them
A FURIOUS mum has taken on McDonald’s after the fast-food chain destroyed her fence and dug a “disgusting” ditch right by her bedroom.
Rachel Laidler, 55, has retaliated to the builders of the neighbouring site by erecting a banner to show she is “not loving it”.
The not-so-subtle sign could be viewed on Wednesday when the restaurant opened.
It read: “We’re not loving it – see the unrepaired damage they left behind their fence”.
Rachel said the chain’s contractors had heavily damaged her perimeter wall by digging a 4.5m (15ft) deep hole for a ‘water treatment tank’ right next to it.
She and her husband Peter, 70, had got on ‘well’ with the workers until they made the huge ditch, which is just 1.9m (6ft) from their bedroom in Ilkley, West Yorks.
And Rachel – who also lives with her dad, Cyril Taylor, 91 – felt incensed by how McDonald’s and her council had treated them as they fought to address the issue.
She now fears the Labour government’s intention to relax planning laws and bring in mandatory housing targets will lead to many similar disputes.
The mum-of-four said: “People all over the country are having these issues.
“Everybody says you shouldn’t take on McDonald’s but it’s just wrong what they are doing.
“They just don’t care and yet they pretend to care. So that’s a conflict in their marketing.
“I’ve got my 91-year-old dad living with us and he just can’t believe that anybody could be such a bad neighbour.
“I’m just angry and I just can’t bear injustice. I’ll stand up for the people in the next development as well now that I see the bigger picture.”
Soft furnishings company boss Rachel was pleased when work began to turn an ex-Kashmiri restaurant into a McDonald’s this year as the site had fallen into disrepair.
She said her husband Peter was undergoing ‘brutal’ treatment at the time for throat cancer, and her main preoccupation was helping him survive his terrible ordeal.
At first, Rachel said they had maintained a good relationship with the builders and Peter even helped them occasionally when his health improved.
But things started to fall apart when they dug the huge hole close to the five-bed home, which Rachel claims caused her concrete retaining wall to slip and crack.
She said: “Relationships were fine. My husband went around and helped them with one or two bits and pieces as he started to feel a bit better.
“And we weren’t looking over the fence the whole time because we’ve got our own lives to get on with.
“Then they came around and said, ‘We’re going to be digging a hole really quite close to your fence… It might be good if the dogs don’t go round there.’
“And then we couldn’t believe it – it was literally the other side, and this hole just got deeper and deeper. It’s 1.9m from our bedroom wall and it’s over 4.5m deep.”
Rachel explained that herself and Peter fell out with the builders over the incident.
And she then began emailing Bradford Council about the water treatment tank, which is now going through a retrospective planning application process.
But Rachel felt the local authority had simply “washed their hands” of the problem.
She said: “There was nobody to talk to us, environmental health never came out, nobody even acknowledged our emails, many of which were sent.
“The only email we ever got back was, ‘It’s been signed off, it’s nothing to do with us any more.’”
Rachel now fears similar issues will become more frequent if Labour presses ahead with their manifesto pledge to ‘overhaul’ the planning system.
She added: “Labour is planning to ease up planning restrictions, so it’s something that might become more of a problem.
“We’ve paid our council tax year in, year out for decades, and we are not being listened to or represented in any way.
“I wonder if it’s going on all over the country.”
A spokesperson from McDonald’s said: “As part of building our new McDonald’s Restaurant in Ilkley, we installed a water treatment tank, following a review of the local drainage infrastructure.
“Once on site, it became clear that the water treatment tank could not be placed in the exact spot originally planned.
“However, the main outlet pipe where the treated water leaves the site remains in the same location.
“Relevant experts have assured us that the relocated tank does not impact neighbours or the surrounding area in any way, and we are working with the planning authority to make sure they are satisfied the correct procedures have been followed, and will follow any further steps they ask us to take.
“We have made a commitment to repair the damaged fence and this week we contacted the neighbour to discuss next steps.”
A spokesperson for Bradford Council added: “The Council is aware of this issue and is in discussions with the owners’ representatives.
“We have been advised that a retrospective Planning Application is being prepared and once received the Council will fully consider it, which will include the usual publicity to give residents a chance to make their comments.”
The Sun has approach McDonald’s and Bradford Council for further comment.
What are your rights over a fence row?
IT'S very important to know your rights if you are embroiled in a fence row with a neighbour.
How do I know which side I own?
A boundary feature can be a fence, wall, hedge, ditch, piece of wire, or sometimes even just the edge of a driveway.
The only way to know for certain who owns what side and to avoid any neighbour disputes, is to refer to the title plan or Land Registry.
In this, the T mark is used to indicate who the boundary belongs to and therefore who is responsible for its upkeep, say pros at Jacksons Fencing.
Larger developments tend to have some indication provided by the builder, but there are no hard and fast rules
People often think they are responsible for the left (or right) hand boundary wherever they live, but there isn’t any legal basis for this.
You can check with HM Land Registry to see which boundary feature you are responsible for.
Often households can’t get hold of the paperwork but experts say they shouldn’t panic.
Homeowners can guess who owns the fence by checking where the rails are.
Pros say: “The fence is typically facing away from their property so that their neighbour gets the ‘good’ side.
“This is the most secure way of facing fencing so there are no rails for anyone to use to climb into your garden.
“This is then repeated with the neighbour on the other side to ensure that each home has both a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fence side.”
Walls and fences are often built on the land of the boundary’s owner with the edge of the wall marking the limit.
While professionals agree a glimpse at the fence can give you a hint, it’s not foolproof – so you can’t be certain.
Fines and punishment
It is recommended to always check legal documents before making changes to avoid hefty fines.
There is no law that the neighbour has to get the good side of the fence, so it’s completely up to whoever owns the fence.
Fencing pros have suggested: “It may be worth selecting a double-sided panel with no ‘bad’ side as both sides look the same and rails are concealed within the fence panel.”
If one boundary backs onto a road or footpath you can install the panels with the rails on the inside
But if it’s installed on the outside, it can provide an “easy ladder for burglars to enter your garden”.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Property Litigation Association have created a mediation service to help neighbours resolve disputes over their property boundaries without resorting to court action.
RICS also provides a list of surveyors who could assist in boundary disputes.
If a dispute continues, it is ultimately a court that makes decisions, but they do not like such disputes being put before them.
Changing a boundary
If you want to change an existing boundary, such as replacing an old fence with a new one, we always recommend discussing with your neighbour first and making sure it is all agreed.
The registered titles can help you to reach an agreement, but only if this information has been added.
In terms of decorations on a fence legal advisers recommended asking around over who actually first installed it.
But they also urged caution before getting to work on amending the fence without getting more certainty yourself – since there is a danger of actually being prosecuted for criminal damage.
How high can a garden fence be?
The height of the fence is measured from your ground level, this can have an impact when, due to slopes in the ground, your garden may be at a higher level than your neighbours‘.
A garden fence can be as high as 100m but you need to get planning permission if it’s over than 2m.
However, there are some complications to this.
If you are thinking about front garden fences, restrictions state that fences alongside a driveway can be a maximum of 1m or 3ft.
You would need to get planning permission for putting a trellis on a fence of 2m.
But, if any plant that you grow on that trellis exceeds 2m, you do not need to obtain a permit for the growing plant.