[Castle Farm]

Go round and stick one on the miserable barsteward.

[doganjo]

When the wheather warms up I'm going to invite loads of people over for a BBQ and fun then see what he says

Great idea but with our weather you may have to wait a while

and be darned if he splits me and the OH up this time.

- Good grief he didn't do that last time did he?  In the end of the day your relationship with your partner is what is important and you must take that into consideration too, so if you are renting perhaps you may have to consider moving on, but please,please try to persuade your OH that you can be strong enough fro both of you with us behind you.  Bring him to the computer to read all these replies!

[katie]

It always amazes me that there are so many of these people about.Don't let them win! You could complain to the police about harassment. Start keeping a log about what happens. It's not on!
We have problems with new neighbours who obviously expected a rural idyll but instead found themselves next to a working smallholding. We're about to apply for a polytunnel and they'll go ballistic - again. We so hope they'll move back to whichever ghastly suburb spawned them.

[robert waddell]

the police you would be as well going to the pop group of the same name
the dispute we had with our neighbour was according to the police a feud a one sided feud with 59 complaints we gave him enough rope and boy did he hang himself the final  court case resulted in him lying in court (against documents logged in court) and why did it get there because we objected to him discharging humane effluent onto our land . the police the procurator fiscal SEPA(formally FRPB) planning dept all as much use as a broken leg
footnote to Dan if this is virulent tough until you are in this position you are blissfully unaware of how inadequate the aforementioned are
as a point of interest this nursing home owner had sheep dead one lying at the back of the Dyke for a week he was also fined for cruelty to his dog left in car on hot day
now don't take this as a rant i have not even started
apologies to elliser for highjacking the thread

[ellisr]

Don't mind you ranting it's good to clear the air and helps you cope. I have managed to persuade OH to sit tight for now and just do the best for the animals. If he becomes a danger to the animals then we will react but until then we continue on but keep a diary of his complaints and also him watching me from his upstairs window. I will wave everytime I notice him to make it clear I know he is there and watching. I am not going to stress as I have done nothing wrong except I hadn't wrote down her death before I left for work this morning

[robert waddell]

we also had gates left open(all padlocked after ) a tractor had metal filings in the rear axle mysterious fires investigations by various body's and a smirk that you could fit a loaf of bread into

[daddymatty82]

not read this whole post but if it was me i would personaly make his life a living hell i would personally make appearances  then just disapear make him think he is no one  finda piece of land and move the animals there . for sumer grazing say then let him moan then watch his barn go up in flames. me i would sabatage feed so he would need to ask me for favours. i would love a bit of warfare on my land i would dominate the whole place  i so say got kicked out where i kept my pony because i took over  what i did do was provide grass whatr i did not do was take over but what i say is i will have the last laugh

[Roxy]

I do feel for you, having had similar problems with neighbours.  I cannot see what the issue is with your grazing. Unless your tenancy specifically says the grazing is only for horses, which I cannot see it would be, there is no problem.  As for the dead sheep, again, you did nothing wrong.
I understand the pressure you are under, I have been in a similar position.  Please do not let this sad individual drive you away.  Animal health will realise its not you, but him who has the problem if he keeps complaining all the time.  He needs something else to do to occupy his mind - sounds like watching you has become his main pastime.

[Daveravey]

sounds like watching you has become his main pastime.

Which could be looked at as stalking

I'd send him a lawyer's letter of impending court action if he doesn't stop all the harassment .... failing that, a good kicking might be in order   

[mab]

Some people seem to think that if they whinge (sp?) enough they can get whatever they want (possibly something to do with how they were raised?). But if you give in to them it only proves them right.

I must admit it can be very stressful & wearing standing up to them though. For what it's worth you've got my sympathy.

I would second Daveravey's advice about a lawyers letter, and try and document these incidents as such evidence may be very useful later on.

or...

if he wants horses maybe you should keep a stallion for a while - they can't half make a noise when they want to.   

mab

[Sylvia]

I really feel for you having gone through a similar situation  but, if you would like to benefit from our experience, read on
No matter how tempting, don't retaliate or get into rows with him. Neither try to win him over, you'll be playing into his hands. The best thing is to ignore his existence altogether, hard as this may be.
If he does something illegal or anti-social 'phone the police and insist they act.
I'm sure all your other neighbours have gathered by now that he has mental health issues and will take no notice of his complaints.
Carry on, enjoy your animals and ignore this person's presence. Remember the old saying "Sticks and stones........"
Good luck, I'm sure I can say we're all 100% behind you.

[ellisr]

I couldn't afford a stallion the damage they cause can be quite expensive. I remember the last stallion we had in the family kicked the side out of a stone barn and TBH I really could not be bothered with the complaints if I did.

I made sure that the sheep were vocal at 6am this morning when I was feeding them and when I took the horse out he went onto the tarmac bit of the drive and walked up and down a couple of times, just for the exercise of course.

This weekend will be fun as it is worming time for the lambs again and as everyone joins in we should have cutlet running a muck as usual. If he thinks we need to catch him he jumps the fence and runs up and down the drive making a good old racket.

[ellied]

Agree with others you should keep a detailed diary of him watching you and any complaints he makes, plus the facts relevant eg sheep died and was moved for collection to secure area within minutes..

I would also go down the stalking route - make your diary evidence that he is stalking you and you feel oppressed/scared by his constant peering at you and get a lawyer and the police involved sooner rather than later - every time he engages with you is then evidence of his growing obsession with your activities and persecuting you rather than as he sees it his "legitimate complaints" being ignored.  Even if it takes a long time before the police are involved, at least you have the start of a case being made before anything more serious happens.

Whatever you do, don't retaliate and don't wind him up with activities intended to make his life miserable eg walking your horse on tarmac, intentionally stirring up the sheep at 6am, this is evidence in his favour not yours.  You need to continue doing what is legitimately required to care for animals but with a reasonable care not to make things more difficult than they need to be for anyone else.  Don't let your frustration lead you into his game of tit for tat as that is how he'll win, with a bit of video of you doing something stupid that proves you are antagonising him rather than running your smallholding as considerately as you can but with certain unavoidable noise/smell/disruption that goes with country living.

Presumably the animal welfare will have checked your records and given you a clean bill of health - keep it and it is further evidence of his harassment, don't let yourself get sucked in or driven away..

[faith0504]

DONT LET THE BUGGER BEAT YOU, be strong and stick together, you will get through this, you have us lot on your side 


im a strong believer in " every dog has its day", stick in there it will come good

[doganjo]

I've just been shafted by an ex - well present sort of - neighbour!  Was a neighbour when I lived there and were always jealous of what me and John had and showed it, no longer a neighbour since I've moved - not because of them though.

I kept a plot of land when I moved in the hope I could get planning for it and I'd then have a pension boost.  Tried last year but old regs put kibosh on it, was hoping to go for it again when new regs come through. Had a tree surgeon friend look at the three huge beech trees on the site and he suggested taking them down before reapplying, but hadn't had the time to do it yet.  Sneaky neighbours must have seen him looking at them, who had previously objected to the application, and have now gone to the council and got TPOs slapped on them.  Without telling me and I only found out from another (good) neighbour.  I'll probably not have a lot chance of get planning now, so if anyone wants 700 sq metres of land in Aberdeenshire, with a large shed and an old railway carriage on it make me an offer!  Perseverance might get through but at my age I can't sit and wait for that.  It's a damn shame as it's a lovely wee hamlet, tucked away a couple of miles off the main Aberdeen Inverness road.  All the other neighbours are lovely and the annoying thing is these ones have their house up for sale, so won't be staying!