A couple in New Zealand who blocked their elderly neighbours' view of the sea with shipping containers and old car bodies has now erected a two-metre high fence, prompting them to threaten court action.
The dispute is between John and Judy Dewar, aged 81 and 77, and their neighbours Simon Bicknell and Carol McLennan.
Their properties are at Whirinaki, north of Napier, on New Zealand's North Island.
On the seaside of the Dewar's house is a 20 metre-wide strip of land, about 100m long, that belongs to Bicknell and McLennan. In May 2020 Bicknell put a 40-foot shipping container on the strip, obstructing the Dewars' view of the sea.
Bicknell and McLennan had been in a long dispute with the Dewar's daughter and son-in-law over various matters related to their neighbouring property and when asked by the Dewars why they were behaving the way they were, Bicknell reportedly replied "I'm doing this because you're family".
In August 2021, the Dewars went to court seeking an order requiring Bicknell and McLennan to remove the original container.
Bicknell told the court that there was no alternative for him but to place the shipping container.
Judge David Harvey said Bicknell had acted maliciously and reprehensibly and that he was trying to pressure the Dewars into influencing their daughter and son-in-law over their property dispute.
However, Judge Harvey said there was no law that recognised a person's right to a view, and he did not make the order.
After the court action Bicknell placed a second shipping container in front of the Dewar's home, then car bodies and further items, including tarpaulin screens.
A few days later Bicknell and McLennan erected a two-metre high corrugated iron fence on their property.
It's about 50cm from the existing low wooden fence and runs the length of the Dewar's boundary.
Bicknell and McLennan had first indicated they intended to build the fence in October last year, when they gave the Dewars notice under the Fencing Act.
The Dewars objected to the proposed fence on the basis that the existing fence was adequate and indicated that if agreement couldn't be reached the dispute would have to be heard in court.
Bicknell and McLennan built the fence anyway.
It blocks the couple's view more than the shipping containers, car bodies and tarpaulins had.
This move prompted the Dewars to contact Bicknell and McLennan through their lawyer, advising that the obstructions breached the Property Law Act, which empowered a court to order a land owner to remove a structure from his or her land if that structure unduly obstructs his or her neighbours' view; posed a risk to the neighbours' life or health; and/or unduly interfered with the reasonable use and enjoyment of the neighbours' land.
"It is unreasonable to expect Mr and Mrs Dewar to live with the status quo, and they are not prepared to do so. They therefore seek the removal of the various items your clients have placed between the Dewars' house and the sea," the letter to Bicknell and McLennan stated.
The letter said the Dewars were prepared to pay the costs of removal, but if Bicknell and McLennan weren't prepared to remove the items then the Dewars would begin court proceedings to have them forcibly removed.
This court action would differ from that taken previously as the earlier action was taken under common law and referred to nuisance.
Bicknell did not wish to comment and referred questions to his lawyer Matt Lawson.
Lawson said the couple had responded to the Dewar's letter by saying that Bicknell and McLennan would remove the shipping containers and that the car bodies would be removed at a later date.
When it came to the fence, Lawson said "there is no proposal to remove the fence at this stage".
Judy Dewar said the couple was hopeful that Bicknell and McLennan would "come to their sense and do the right thing".
"We're constantly wondering what they're going to do next. It's no way to live," she said.
This article was originally published on Stuff.co.nz and has been reproduced here with permission.
