I’m furious my neighbour is trying to build a house on my driveway – I’m fighting a £7,500 battle
A FURIOUS homeowner has spent £7,500 trying to stop a next-door neighbour building a new home using his driveway.
Robert Medcalfe has called in lawyers in a dispute with north London neighbour Alisson Roberto Texeira about new development plans he says have left him “outraged and livid”.
Brent council has been asked to give permission for a new house in Dollis Hill, near Wembley Stadium.
Yet Mr Medcalfe says the proposed new two-storey semi-detached property would involve a new access road using a 2.7-metre driveway he jointly owns.
He and other residents also say the new “Home of Multiple Occupancy” would ruin the look of the area while also impinging on their privacy.
He has hired legal advisors at a cost of £7,500 so far in his attempts to block the bid drawn up by architects White House Design Ltd, MyLondon reports.
Mr Medcalfe, 36, said he was “outraged and livid” that the plans are being pursued despite being previously rejected by the London borough in February.
He said: “The whole thing relies on my consent because I’m the co-owner of the driveway he needs to fulfil this development.
“I’m absolutely outraged and livid by the whole thing – it’s a complete shock.
“How can you try to do something with someone’s property without speaking with them and getting permission? It’s not what neighbours do.”
Mr Medcalfe “never expected” to be landed with such high legal bills but insisted he would not back down.
He added: “I’m wondering how long this is going to go on for – it’s taking up so much of my time.”
An online Change.org petition opposing the plans has almost 200 signatures – and other neighbours have written to the council to formally object.
One wrote: “Again this tiresome application comes to light.
“It is ludicrous to erect a HMO in the back of a garden which runs alongside my garden and property.
“The idea of the only access being through a shared drive is preposterous and I imagine completely unlawful.”
Another described the proposed new property as “completely detrimental to the road and surrounding properties”.
Other complaints include suggestions the new home’s appearance would not be in keeping with 1920s- and 1930s-style properties nearby.
There are also concerns about increasing air pollution already harmed by the busy nearby North Circular dual carriageway.
The application proposes demolishing a garage and removing a row of trees while providing a new property as well as parking for two cars and a turning area.
The plan’s architects White House Design Ltd were approached for comment.
Other recent neighbour disputes have frequently been based around privacy fences – such as in the Hessle area of Hull in Yorkshire and near Cotham School in Bristol.
People have also taken to TikTok to talk about neighbours sunbathing naked, peeking over fences and feeding their pet dog potatoes.
There have been further rows over chopping down flowers, notes complaining about parking, a cockerel’s “incessant crowing” and a £30,000 garage deemed 50cm too high.