Pictured: Fence at centre of row between new residents and elderly neighbours who have been ‘blocked from communal garden steps’ and ‘left nervous wrecks over the dispute’

• Pictured: Fence at centre of row between new residents and elderly neighbours 
• John and Lorraine Smith ‘blocked from garden steps’ and ‘left nervous wrecks’ 
• The 78-year-olds from Oxgangs, Edinburgh, were asked to pay £600 for fence

Photos have emerged of a fence at the centre of a row between new residents and their elderly neighbours.

John and Lorraine Smith, both 78, were ‘blocked from their communal garden steps’ and ‘left nervous wrecks’ after they were asked to pay half of a £1,200 fence their new neighbours in Oxgangs, Edinburgh, wanted for privacy.

The couple’s granddaughter, also called Lorraine, 32, 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 said: ‘The fence is very obstructive. They have taken advantage of my grandparents and got them to pay £600 when the lease states that my grandparents shouldn’t have had to pay for a fence.

‘Not knowing they weren’t supposed to pay for it they handed over £600 in cash.

Photos have emerged of a fence at the centre of a row between new residents and their elderly neighbours

Pregnant hairdresser Lorraine Smith, 32 (pictured), from Oxgangs, Edinburgh, has been engulfed in a row with the neighbours of her grandparents after they built a fence in their shared back garden

John and Lorraine Smith, both 78, were asked to stump up £600 towards the £1,200 fence in Oxgangs, Edinburgh, because their next door neighbours, who had moved in months before, wanted privacy

‘The fence is blocking half of the shared access and has been built on my grandparents’ land.

‘Cement was put for down the fence posts and they cut down trees of theirs which they dumped in my grandparents’ garden and just left it like that.

‘It was erected overnight before I found out that my grandparents had paid £600 to them.

‘I spoke to the joiner and told him it was not right. I’m not even sure he actually is a joiner. I told him he had blocked off our access and he just said he was doing what he was told.

‘The neighbours knew the back area was communal and shouldn’t be blocked but apparently they wanted their privacy.

‘I went to their door and asked to speak to them about the fence. The woman said to me, ‘You’ve just come to my door for a f***ing argument.’

Ms Smith said: ‘It was erected overnight before I found out that my grandparents had paid £600 to them’

Three trees were also cut from the next door neighbours garden before the branches and debris were dumped in a ten foot high pile in the Smith’s back garden

‘My grandmother told them numerous times the area was shared and they couldn’t touch the shared path but the man next door said he didn’t understand why it should be shared and went ahead with the work anyway.

‘His wife said to me, ‘Tough s***. It’s built now.’ Those exact words.

‘If there was a fire and they had to leave the back way, they would be in trouble.’

‘My grandfather is getting a heart operation. I’m pregnant. It is a lot of stress.’

Three trees were also cut from the next door neighbours garden before the branches and debris were dumped in a ten foot high pile in the Smith’s back garden.

Lorraine said the deeds of both properties show the shared areas and the specific boundary which outlined where the neighbours could erect the fence.

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 said 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.

The Smiths are taking legal action and have complained to Edinburgh City’s Council’s planning enforcement department.

Lorraine said: ‘My nana didn’t want to go down that route. She wanted to invite them in but I went to ask them and they slammed the door in my face and that’s when I decided we would have to get the lawyers in.’

The hairdresser, who regularly visits her grandparents’ home added ‘The neighbours haven’t even been living here for a year’.

She has been left her unable to get a buggy into the back garden and the fence has 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. ‘My grandad can’t get his lawnmower up the steps because they are no longer wide enough.

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

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’

Lorraine, a hairdresser, added: ‘If I wasn’t pregnant I’d have ripped that fence down by now. They have damaged the property by cementing the post in our land and drilling bolts into the ground. The posts shouldn’t even be on our side.

‘They’ve taken advantage of my grandparents’ generosity since they moved in.

‘This is my nana’s childhood home.

‘They clearly don’t think they’ve done anything wrong. But the other neighbours think it’s disgusting.

City of Edinburgh councillor Scott Agnew said he had some sympathy for the Smiths.

He told Mailonline: ‘This is a boundary dispute between two private landowners so there is not much the council can do but there is an issue with whether the person complied with planning regulations. That is currently being investigated

‘There is also a dispute over whether the land the fence has been erected on fully belongs to the owner of the fence. There is a planning investigation underway looking at the detail

‘Quite often the things that come to me seems to be a breakdown in a relationship, but this does seem an odd one.

‘I have sympathy with the Smiths because this is causing them quite a lot of distress so it is important that it is resolved for their own wellbeing.

The hairdresser regularly visits the home in Oxgangs, Edinburgh (pictured right), to care for her elderly relatives who have lived at the property ‘their whole lives’

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

‘The council is investigating whether planning regulations have been breached which we will get to the bottom of this in the next few days.

‘On top of that there is the issue as to whether the fence is on land that is owned by the person who erected it.’

Lorraine said: ‘We have taken legal action and we are getting a lawyers’ letter written up.

John said: ‘We’ve lived all this time in this house and never had any bother. We have always got on with the neighbours on the street.

‘This is our land and the neighbours who are Polish just went ahead and built a fence on it. They were after £600 to go halfers which I gave them.

‘My nana has been terrified of speaking to them.

‘They told my grandparents they didn’t get on with their previous neighbours. I wonder why.

‘I put a complaint into planning enforcement and we are taking legal advice.

‘The council have said they can’t do anything because the houses are privately owned.

‘But it says in the deeds that they need to have written consent.

‘I complained to the council that it was a health and safety issue if there was a fire because the fire brigade couldn’t get in and our parents wouldn’t be able to exit the property.’

Lorraine added: ‘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.’

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

A spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council said: ‘We are aware of this incident and are looking into it.’

Lorraine’s grandmother, also called Lorraine, said: ‘It’s just not right. We wanted to be nice .

‘The previous neighbours were brilliant. We know everyone in this street and everybody looks out for each other.

‘We asked these new neighbours to sit down with us so that we could talk it over but we are having to send a lawyers letter.

‘I’m afraid of confrontation but I can’t get up the steps to the back garden.

‘We’re all nervous wrecks. I don’t want to be fighting people.’

 She added: ‘I have lived here since I was 15. Back then it was very different to now. There were no gardens or pavements back then. Just sheep.’

The Smiths’ neighbour Katerina Przemek said: ‘This is a matter for the lawyers. Lorraine Smith is not the owner of the property. 

‘She does not have power of attorney for her grandparents and her grandparents are in their right mind and they agreed everything. 

‘They are of sound mind and that’s all I have to say on the matter.’

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