Pregnant woman claims neighbours’ new fence blocks pram from garden
Lorraine Smith says access to her grandparents’ home in Oxgangs, Edinburgh, Scotland, is now restricted.
A pregnant woman has claimed her neighbours’ new fence is blocking her from being able to get her pram into the garden of her grandparents’ home.
Mum-to-be Lorraine Smith, 32, regularly stays at the home of her grandparents in Oxgangs, Edinburgh, Scotland, and also acts as their carer.
But those living in the neighbouring property have recently erected a fence in the middle of the garden, which Smith says prohibits her from getting her buggy onto the back green, as well as making it difficult for her elderly grandparents to use the steps to their house.
Smith, who is eight months pregnant with her first child, said her grandparents put up half the cash for the fence but have been left in tears since it was built.
After multiple attempts to confront the neighbours over the newly-built fence, Smith says her complaints have fallen on deaf ears and her grandparents have been told to "deal with it”.
Smith told Edinburgh Live: "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 [the neighbours] 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.”
Smith claims the fence was put up at the end of February and that the neighbours had not told her grandparents that it would take up some of their land.
She added: "They said they wanted their own privacy and couldn't understand why it was a communal area anyway. My grandparents said that was fine, but now their access has been completely restricted…
"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.”
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.
She says she has attempted to speak to the neighbours about rectifying the situation but “they basically slammed the door in my face”.
A spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council said: "We are aware of this incident and are looking into it."
