Was he allowed to do this??

Question

i have just purchased a plot of agricultural land, the boundary between my neighbour and myself was the stream, but my neighbour (everyone calls him bone head!) come out and said that he moved the stream some 30ft into his land about 4 years ago, im awaiting a boundry surveyor to come up and plot the boundary for me, but i really need to know - was he allowed to just move this stream? what would the environment agency say?

regards chris

Answer 1

You need permission from the Environment Agency to alter any water course. Check with them if your neighbour had permission to do this.

Answer 2

You are not the only one. Where the boundary between countries have been defined by rivers, it has been the source of conflict and problems when the river changes course. It is such a primitive and unsatisfactory way to do things. I suggest you check the deeds and plans carefully to see what it says. If the boundary is definitely defined by the course of the stream, then whatever he did to change the course of the stream (to go into his land), it will have to stand. He has lost that bit to you.  

Answer 3

Definitely get some legal help but to move a stream 30 feet is not an easy thing to do nature would put up a fight and it does not seem logical to me for it to be done without a lot of help.

Answer 4

I think he's talking B*llocks to be honest. I honestly don't think you can move a stream. I don't think The Environment Agency would've allowed it due to destroying habitats and wildlife. I may be wrong though x

Answer 5

He is not allowed to move the stream at all.

You need to get a solicitor, a boundary surveyor, some old ordnance survey maps and go to war my friend.

Answer 6

There's two possibilities: either he moved the stream or he's attempting to steal land from you.  He's in trouble either way.

If a stream crosses your land, you can divert it within your land, provided you don't adversely affect the drainage of adjacent land.  You need permission from the Rivers Authority to take water out of it unless the source is within your land.  If the stream forms a boundary, you are not allowed to divert it since doing so involves trespass on adjacent land and will adversely affect its drainage.

You should assume that the stream is the boundary and warn bonehead that if he trespasses on your land, you will prosecute him.  It's then up to him to prove he moved the stream and incriminate himself.

Answer 7

it depends if the stream was in his land or not. one of you must own the land the stream ran on, if he moved the stream then ask him for proof that the stream was his to move in the first place if he can not show you deeds that show the stream was his ask him to put back the stream exactly where it was.

before you can move or block or alter a water way you must have permission of your local council coz these things are not there just by chance they have been laid out over hundreds of years and could be vital to a farmer a few miles down stream

Answer 8

Unless he had the right planning permission i don't think this was legal, I'm not a master mind in this subject tho!

Answer 9

You aren't going to find an adequate answer here.  Find a real estate attorney.

fs

Answer 10

You need to get a gun license, and defend what is rightfully yours!