A pregnant hairdresser has been engulfed in a row with her grandparents’ neighbours who built an ‘obstructive’ fence in their shared back garden.
Lorraine Smith, 32, regularly visits the home in Oxgangs, Edinburgh, to care for her elderly relatives who have lived at the property ‘their whole lives’.
But Ms Smith says the new neighbours, who ‘haven’t even been living here for a year’, have left her unable to get a buggy into the back garden and have blocked off access for her 78-year-old grandparents.
‘They have literally taken up half of the steps with the fence and built their own, which makes no sense,’ she said.
The grandparents also contributed £600 towards the £1,200 cost of the fence, Ms Smith claims.
Pregnant hairdresser Lorraine Smith, 32, from Oxgangs, Edinburgh, has been engulfed in a row with the neighbours of her grandparents (pictured left, Lorraine Smith, 78, and John Smith, 78) after they built a fence in their shared back garden
Lorraine Smith, 32, regularly visits the home in Oxgangs, Edinburgh (pictured right), to care for her elderly relatives who have lived at the property ‘their whole lives’
But Ms Smith says the new neighbours, who ‘haven’t even been living here for a year’, have left her unable to get a buggy into the back garden and have blocked off access for her 78-year-old grandparents (the fence is pictured from a bird’s eye view)
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, the part-time hairdresser said: ‘The neighbours haven’t even been living here for a year but my nana, who is 78, has lived there since she was 15.
‘As it’s an old coal mine house, the back garden is communal and so are the steps at the back of the property.
‘When they moved in last August they were told that is was a communal garden and was split in half so anything that they wanted to build had to be put in a letter to my grandparents.’
She went on to explain that on February 23, she headed into the house only to see the joiner building the fence.
‘They said they wanted their own privacy and couldn’t understand why it was a communal area anyway,’ Ms Smith said.
‘My grandparents said that was fine, but now their access has been completely restricted.
‘When the joiner was building it, I went and knocked on their door but funnily enough nobody was in.
‘Later that night, I knocked again and they told me I was just looking for an argument and that the fence was built so I’d have to deal with it.’
Ms Smith has shared property deeds with MailOnline. Highlighted in pink is the area her grandparents’ neighbours have control over. She said that the fence has been erected between points ‘H’ and ‘G’, in the communal area highlighted in yellow
The grandparents also contributed £600 towards the £1,200 cost of the fence, Ms Smith claims (the three are pictured)
The neighbours are understood to have moved in last August when they were told that it was a communal garden and they would be splitting it in half, so ‘anything that they wanted to build had to be put in a letter’ to Mr and Mrs smith
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, the part-time hairdresser said: ‘The neighbours haven’t even been living here for a year but my nana, who is 78, has lived there since she was 15’
Ms Smith told MailOnline that the fence has halved their path up to her grandparents’ garden, giving the family restricted access in and out of the property.
She says that the deeds of both properties show the shared areas and the specific boundary which outlined where the neighbours could erect the fence.
As outlined in the deeds, Ms Smith claims there are two communal spaces, with one being a shared pathway and staircase. She insists that the neighbours have blocked this pathway in half.
Ms Smith has taken images of the narrow passage between the back door and steps, saying it is not wide enough for a pram or for her granddad to get out, who regularly takes their dog to the park.
Ms Smith continued: ‘They have literally taken up half of the steps with the fence and built their own, which makes no sense. They also charged my grandparents £600 for the fence.
Ms Smith told MailOnline that the fence has halved their path up to her grandparents’ garden, giving the family restricted access in and out of the property
As outlined in the deeds, Ms Smith claims there are two communal spaces, with one being a shared pathway and staircase. She insists that the neighbours have blocked this pathway in half
Ms Smith has taken images of the narrow passage between the back door and steps, saying it is not wide enough for a pram or for her granddad to get out, who regularly takes their dog to the park
Lorraine added: ‘My nana is in tears due to the whole situation and it’s so sickening as they have lived here their whole lives. I have tried to speak with the neighbours again’
‘I’m getting advice from a lawyer and they are drafting up a letter to inform the family that the fence has to be moved further towards their porch or taken down.
‘My nana is in tears due to the whole situation and it’s so sickening as they have lived here their whole lives. I have tried to speak with the neighbours again.
‘They asked why I would need access with a pram to the garden but that’s nothing to do with them and it saves me walking all the way around to get access to the park.’
A spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council told the publication: ‘We are aware of this incident and are looking into it.’
