Access issues

Jim B

Jim B

Regular Member
Joined
May 20, 2022
Points
19
Location
Aberdeenshire
Model of Z
Z3 2.8
So earlier this week we had a bit of snow nothing out of the ordinary for Aberdeenshire . But one night the wind got up and my farm road started drifting , my wife anticipated there may an issue getting to work the next day and left her car at the bottom of the road . In the morning while snow ploughing the road and giving the wife a lift down in the tractor I was forced to stop due to a neighbour who stays half down the road had tried to get out but had got stuck . Fair enough we can all get stuck so after seeing the wife to her car I reversed home and fed my cattle .
Now the problem , I had a hospital appointment for 10.45 (another story a cow kicked me and broke my hand) so I went to my neighbours house about 9.00 and his wife told me he had abandoned his car there and got a lift to work with out so much as leaving a spare key so that I could shift it. So I had no way of getting out and even though she called him three times and I was assured he was coming back to move it he didn't appear till 1.30 missing both my original appointment and a cancellation one I managed to get for 12.30.
After approaching him a couple of days later after I had calmed down a bit he was not apologetic and even thought that it was my fault for not keeping the road clear of snow , I asked him why he didn't call me as I'd have helped him get out , he responded by saying he didn't want to bother me . So trying to move on I asked if we could make sure this wouldn't happen again , he said he couldn't guarantee it . I had approached him in a calm and reasonable manner all I wanted was to know that I would never be blocked in without prior consent but I'm afraid I used a bad word at that point.
My question is for anyone who may have any knowledge is where do I stand if a similar situation arises and what options do I have if any?
( The farm road is an private untarred track owned by me and he has access rights)
 
Must be something in the house Deeds on yours and the neighbours detailing the access rights across your land. I would suspect it would describe the right to pass over your land not block or hinder access. Check the Deeds out and then in writing advise him/her of the conditions pertaining to the access if you find any. If he blocked your access he also needs reminding Emergency Services would have been hindered had they required access, in the case of the Fire Brigade they would have moved it by any means and method at their disposal, he might have come back to a car tipped on its side.
 
Cheers some good points there , His house used to be our farms cottage which my father sold off about 25y ago , I'll check my deeds but pretty sure they just mention something about access for domestic traffic . I wondered if it would be worth just asking the Police for any advice or a solicitor to see where I legally stand if the deeds reveal nothing. I've heard stories of the police telling farmers they can move a vehicle blocking their road as long as minimal damage is caused but I wouldn't like to do that unless it was a last resort and I had it in writing.
Where has common decency and consideration for others gone?
 
Do check the Deeds, depending on what you find seek advise from a Solicitor who may well suggest a formal letter be sent detailing what is acceptable for continued access, Solicitor will obviously charge you for sending said letter and advice.
Civil law is somewhat complicated when it comes to private land, the Police don't take this sort of thing on apart from maybe attending to prevent a Breach of the Peace occurring. Moving it yourself will always risk accusations of damage from the other party.
 
Many thanks for your input I was initially thinking a solicitors letter or some form of hard evidence to prove that it was unacceptable was the only thing he would accept . Could do without the couple of hundred quid or whatever a solicitors letter is but would be worth it if it prevents this happening again.
I'll look into it more after the festive period is past , thanks again for all your pointers , I'll let you know how things work .
Have a good Christmas
Jim
 
Is it not worth holding off on the solicitor’s letter just it might make the situation worse?
Personally I would wait and see if it happens again then the solicitor letter.
Hopefully you get it sorted, but at the end of the day it all depends on the attitude of your neighbour.
 
Sounds like the neighbour is a selfish bugger Jim, and that‘s unlikely to change, even if you spend money on a Solicitors letter.

Tony.
 
I'd keep Solicitors etc well out of the way and take a stroll down with wine and flowers and have a chat. As stated, take a look at the Deeds to see what's what and who's responsible for what. We have a similar situation, we live on a Dairy Farm and there are two houses bang in the middle, one we rent and like you, one private that was sold by the farmers grandfather years ago. The neighbour is required to maintain upkeep of the track as is the farmer and the farmer must provide reasonable access at all times for not just us but the post, visitors and most importantly the Emergency Services 24/7/365. We've had the odd spat but nothing significant and always had it sorted by chatting.
 
We had an issue over in Florida with our next door neighbour who had a Man. Co. business and as residents were regular users of our "trash cans". Problem being, guests would arrive and find the bins full and a week to go till emptying day. They then complained to us.
We sorted this with a bottle of wine and a chat, the guy had never even considered the the effect his actions had on us. When we were there last Christmas Maria gave us a bottle of champagne and told us they were leaving.

Tony.
 
Its good to hear everyone's view as I've never been in this situation before and unsure of the best way to deal with it , I doubt if it will happen again but he's made it clear that he thinks he has done nothing wrong and if the situation arose he would do the same thing again even though I'd offered to help him out night or day. I therefore feel I need to research the options so I know how best way to deal with it , be it pointing out anything relevant on the deeds or laws a solicitors letter , if the Police would get involved or have any advice.
I had expected we could have sorted it out as rational adults which is why I left it a couple of days before approaching him so I was calm didn't say anything I regretted but he saw nothing wrong and was not even prepared to phone me to give me the opportunity to pull him out with the tractor. The ironic thing is a couple of years ago another neighbour further down blocked the road for about an hour while he sorted a burst drain under the road and I witnessed my problem neighbour go of the head with him shouting and swearing how he was on call and needed 24hr access
 
Jim B said:
Its good to hear everyone's view as I've never been in this situation before and unsure of the best way to deal with it , I doubt if it will happen again but he's made it clear that he thinks he has done nothing wrong and if the situation arose he would do the same thing again even though I'd offered to help him out night or day. I therefore feel I need to research the options so I know how best way to deal with it , be it pointing out anything relevant on the deeds or laws a solicitors letter , if the Police would get involved or have any advice.
I had expected we could have sorted it out as rational adults which is why I left it a couple of days before approaching him so I was calm didn't say anything I regretted but he saw nothing wrong and was not even prepared to phone me to give me the opportunity to pull him out with the tractor. The ironic thing is a couple of years ago another neighbour further down blocked the road for about an hour while he sorted a burst drain under the road and I witnessed my problem neighbour go of the head with him shouting and swearing how he was on call and needed 24hr access
Click to expand...
It's unlikely that the Police would get involved as it's a civil issue, unless there's a "boxing match".
 
The biggest failure in life is ineffective communications. :)
 
andyglym said:
It's unlikely that the Police would get involved as it's a civil issue, unless there's a "boxing match".
Click to expand...
Yeah , Colb did point out that last night along with some other good advice
I'm just trying to get a process I can follow if it happens again
I've tried offering to help him to clear the car off the road as a resolve, and I still can't understand why that's not an acceptable option so face to face discussion doesn't seem to work
From what I thought and suggestions here I reckon my options are
Check if there's anything relevant in either of our deeds
See if there's any laws and if so how are they are enforced
Try approaching him one more time in a few days

Everyone's input has been much appreciated
Jim
 
Jim B said:
Yeah , Colb did point out that last night along with some other good advice
I'm just trying to get a process I can follow if it happens again
I've tried offering to help him to clear the car off the road as a resolve, and I still can't understand why that's not an acceptable option so face to face discussion doesn't seem to work
From what I thought and suggestions here I reckon my options are
Check if there's anything relevant in either of our deeds
See if there's any laws and if so how are they are enforced
Try approaching him one more time in a few days

Everyone's input has been much appreciated
Jim
Click to expand...
Found this mate.

Moving vehicles blocking access

Presumably we can’t do this, either on the highway or private land? At least not without covering the countryside in signs? Which isn’t exactly practical. I’m being flippant but I’m concerned about the vast influx of walkers we have had who abandon cars wherever they like and having run the...
thefarmingforum.co.uk thefarmingforum.co.uk
 
Excellent link Andyglym a few things to look into , the legal ones that is.
Had always thought I couldn't move the car in case I damaged it at all but never occurred to me that the reverse would apply and he would probably be liable for my losses . Not that I want to claim anything but if that is true if it is pointed out to him that would probably be deterrent enough for the future.
Many thanks for finding that
Jim
 
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