The Party Wall etc Act 1996 provides certain rules on formal consultation with your neighbours where you intend to carry out work to or around a Party Wall. If this is an issue with the project then specialist advice will be needed. The best thing you can do from the outset is take a co-operative approach with your neighbours and ensure that you stay on the best of terms with them, even if you do so through gritted teeth.
Although you have statutory rights in terms of access and to carry out work to land near your neighbours, the process will be much quicker and cheaper if you have them onside from the start. The same goes for planning permission; people are less likely to object if they are ‘on side’. So talk to your neighbours about your plans and try to deal with any issues they may have from the very start of the project.
