First off, some background: I got an allotment last year, in Autumn, just before the ground froze solid for several months. It used to be part of a larger plot, which had been split into two parts as the previous owner, who still has the other half, had been unable to keep up with the weeding on a big plot, and had set fire to it (with no precautions), damaging a fruit tree, and nearly setting fire to the orchard on the other side in the process.
Normally, this would have caused her to be thrown off the site, (I was told about this by the site rep when I took it on) but the site commitee decided to give her another chance, and said she could stay on if she gave up half the plot, seeing as she was having so much trouble cultivating it all.
I suspected I might have a few issues with her when I took it on, but it was in the nicest corner of the site otherwise. It was pretty well grass and weeds, and I started digging out beds, before unfortunately I developed a back/hip problem a few months back, and with the speed of growing it this time of year, combined with my lack of strimmer meaning I’ve been cutting the whole grassy bit with shears, it looks pretty neglected at first glance, though I have got a quite a bit planted in if you can look past the grass jungle.
Yesterday, I called in on my way home to pull a few carrots, and hack down a bit more of the grass, to discover my neighbour has randomly decided to dig a path straight across my plot, which is between hers and the main path. Now, I am supposed to have an 18" access path along the edges, which has pretty much been just a grassy trail until now, just like it is on most of the other plots on site (some people have put paving down, or dug it clear, but they’re the minority, normally the retirees who basically live there and have elegantly manicured plants). I’ve only seen her a few times down there, I think 3 times total, as I’m normally there during the week, and she’s normally only there at weekends. She’s normally sort of friendly, but has made no secret of the fact she resents me being there, as she originally picked the plot as being the quietest corner of the site, with no real neighbours.
I last saw her maybe 2 weeks ago, as she was digging a new path on her own plot, matching the one that has now appeared on mine. She said hello and chatted a bit about the weather and things, but she never mentioned any access problems then. I was thinking about improving the path, and had done a bit of work on it, as it no longer ran along the boundary line, but it wasn’t my priority, and she never gave any indication that she thought it should be.
The path she’s dug is easily 2 foot wide, isn’t straight, is a few feet in from the edge of the plot, (the boundary was changed when I took it over, the new one is very clearly marked, this path is dug pretty much on the old boundary, despite the fact she knows it’s been changed) and all in all is really annoying and not anything I would have agreed to, even if she’d asked me, which she didn’t.
So, after that long ramble, I’m trying to work out what I should do about this- I have a feeling she’s just going to come and do more stuff on my plot if I do nothing; soon after I took it over, which I think she had 3 months warning about, she came back and dug up a few more things she’d changed her mind about leaving, again without saying anything. I really just don’t think she’s got the hang of the fact it’s not her land any more, and her coming onto it and digging it up is really no more OK than me digging up hers. I’m going to be away for the next 4
or 5 weekends, and won’t have much time to visit during the week so I’m not going to see her for ages.
I’m going to go over at some point and leave a note, and I have already emailed the site rep about it, but what should I say to her? I want her to take me seriously and respect the fact that my plot is now mine, and not hers, but I really don’t want to start a feud.
I also don’t want to draw too much attention from the council, as I’ve said, my plot is overgrown- especially if you don’t look carefully, I’ve actually been focussing on getting the perennial weeds out and getting permanent plants in; the grass isn’t doing any harm and I can always cut if down when I’m in a better state, but I know it doesn’t look good. There’s an unspoken rule on the site that you don’t complain to the council, you take it to the allotment commitee, as the council has no middle gears, but I don’t really know who they are- there’s a small shop in site, which they run, but it’s only open for a few hours on weekends, when I’m normally at work or busy.
If anyone can give me any tips on what to do, I’d really appreciate it- I know I tend to write really snotty passive-aggressive notes when I’m annoyed at someone, and I really don’t want to make this neighbour situation any worse than it is, even if she is very clearly in the wrong.