A NORFOLK couple blew their life savings and even faced jail time in a row with their late neighbor over a wooden fence.
Graham and Katherine Bateson, 75 and 73, spent £45,000 on legal fees trying to remove the boundary imposed by their neighbour, Wendy Leedham.
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Graham Bateson, 75, and his wife Katherine, 73, bought their house in 1987. Credit: SWNS
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The fence, which was once between the two driveways, has since been removed
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The property managers told them it was a ‘shared driveway’ Credit: SWNS
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When neighbor Wendy Leedham built a fence, the couple took legal action Credit: SWNS
Unfortunately for them, Leedham, who has died aged 74, was given permission to build a fence at the end of their bungalow, despite the couple being told it was a shared driveway.
Retired factory supervisor Mrs Bateson told the Eastern Daily Press: “We’ve lived here for 32 years without any problems with previous neighbours, they all agreed it was a shared driveway.
“To have all your life savings taken from you like that, when you knew you were right.”
The couple bought their two-bedroom house in Snettisham back in 1987 but, unbeknownst to them, their tranquil cul-de-sac would turn into a bitter legal battle.
The fence was installed in 2019 and, according to the Bateson family, blocked the driveway making it difficult to enter the Brent Avenue property.
They then embarked on a protracted legal campaign to tackle what they claimed were supposed to be ‘unmarked borders’.
The extensive battle included the filing of an injunction, followed by three years of litigation and ultimately a 2021 mediation hearing.
To their horror, it was decided at the hearing that the fence could remain.
Ms Bateson added: “I don’t understand how you can have all the checks legally and 30 years later it comes back and bites you in the ass.”
In September 2022, three years and £45,000 later, a fed-up Mr Bateson removed the fence himself, ignoring the new ruling.
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A disbelieving retired window cleaner said: “I knocked down a fence and I’ve been arrested for criminal damage.
“On Sunday, they locked me up for 12 hours without food until midnight.”
The charge was dropped last December as the Crown Prosecution Service felt it was not in the public interest to continue.
At this point the Batesons declared that they could not afford to continue their expensive conflict with Wendy Leedham and her fence.
Since the arrest, the wooden barrier has not been rebuilt – but Mr and Mrs Bateson have already lost their life savings.
He said: “We saved and worked hard.
– Now everything is gone.
Leedham died a few months before the hearing in May 2021, but her family stepped in to try to keep the fence she had fought so hard to maintain.
Her three-bed home is for sale for £375,000 and estate agent Sowerby makes no mention of the boundary dispute in the property’s 12-page brochure.
After the hearing, a surveyor’s report confirmed the fence should never have been installed, according to the Batesons.
However, the Land Registry refused this as they were not happy with the way Bateson’s signatures had been verified.
The properties are currently unfenced, but Ms Bateson says she and her husband are terrified of the kind of strife the new owners next door could bring.
She said: “We’re still living in fear that they’re going to put up another fence, and there shouldn’t have been one.”
What are your rights in this situation?
As the person who erected the fence obtained a legal permit before erecting the fence, it is necessary to obtain a legal permit in order to tear it down.
Residents who use the driveway have signed contracts stating that they must abide by what is allowed by the court.
Since both sets of neighbors disagree, it is up to a third-party body to decide whether the fence should remain up or be removed.
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Source: HIS Education