Does anyone know anything about gardening?

Try and get hold of your local planning officer maybe? Should be able to shine some light on whether the complaining neighbours have a leg to stand on.

didn't sound best pleased

Tell them to shove up their busybody moany arses.

General Permitted Development Order Article 2

(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Order to the height of a building or of plant or machinery is to be construed as a reference to its height when measured from ground level; and for the purposes of this paragraph “ground level” means the level of the surface of the ground immediately adjacent to the building or plant or machinery in question or, where the level of the surface of the ground on which it is situated or is to be situated is not uniform, the level of the highest part of the surface of the ground adjacent to it.

(Oblig. I am not a planning officer, don't any advice I offer as gospel etc.)

Well, nobody has complained formally, but I'd like to keep it that way.

This is fabulous. Maybe I will even raise the new decking 30cm to take advantage of it.

Tell them to shove up their busybody moany arses.

easier said than done sadly... esp when you have to live next to them, see them in the street, etc

Yeah not only this, but apart from being a bit fussy, they are a really good neighbour. Quiet, friendly, trustworthy, spends time cleaning up the public bits of the street, etc.

And like, if I was in her position, I'd not be best pleased either. But good to know legally I can do what I want to.

@Colin_the_Bald
It’s decking time at the allotment! Partner wants a yoga deck for practice and no doubt it’ll end up being used for eating out on etc as well.

At the most basic end of it we’re looking at an 8ft x 8ft(ish) deck as close to the floor as required to level it(site is very slightly sloped) and at the fancier end maybe with a veranda over the top and a storage box for blankets/mats and shit.

One issue we have is that we’re not allowed to pour concrete at the allotments under any circumstances, are metpost still a thing?

I’ve not bought materials for this sorta stuff so no idea of costs but I’m assuming 4x4 frame and noggins then just whack the decking over the top?
Can I assemble the frame on site and level it by just twatting the corners til the posts are where I want them?
I presume if doing veranda it needs to be done from the outset as they’ll form the corner of the deck?

I’ve laboured on this sorta stuff before but never planned or costed it up. Got the tools and prob the skills but never tried. Not being able to use postmix or anything does make it daunting tho...

Or bury them under 30cm of permitted development...

I would have thought at the extreme you could use something like helical piles and drive them 3 ft into the ground… at the easier end, like you level the ground, compact it as much as possible then use either concrete or plastic decking feet.

If it's low traffic, I would reckon that dense concrete blocks supporting a 2x4 frame would be solid enough.

It’s low traffic but I didn’t want to just rest it on blocks in case it warps and goes wobbly mid-headstand.
Helical piers would be ace but def overkill, was unaware of the concrete pads.

No doubt somewhere online is a decking calculator that can give me a complete cutting list lol..

I've watered then with a hose before and it hasn't upset them, but ours are mature and in the ground. If you've got a young'un in a pot maybe it'd be more sensitive?

It's an old thing in the ground that had been chopped down completely when I moved in, 7 years of re-emerged growth now. It just doesn't look very happy, going to keep watering and give a little top dressing of ericaceous compost. Rainwater butts slightly replenished after last couple of days.

use either concrete or plastic decking feet.

I'd do exactly this.

Something like these https://www.wickes.co.uk/Jouplast-Plastic-Adjustable-Decking-Risers---50-to-80mm---Pack-of-10/p/149406 will be much less of a pain to move/relocate should you wish too as well.

After another two hours or so of digging up moss and roots by hand, and trying to knock the soil out of it, during which time I covered all of a sq m or so and obtained a fresh back ache, I've arrived at a lawn decision:

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The correct course of action would have been to rotovate and re-seed the whole lot, which is what I did originally 18 years ago, although I actually put turf down not seed.

But it's too late for that now for this year, I don't want another month plus of unusable garden. So I'm just going to prep as best I can with sand and top dressing, re-seed and hope for the best.

If it turns out really lumpy, I'll re-do it properly with a rotorvator next spring.

All right, one materials list coming up. For best use of timber make it just under 8' square, 2.4m to be precise.

You will need:
4×2 regularised treated for joists and ends, joists spaced at 40cm centres. 5 4.8m lengths and one 2.4. Approx £65

10 4.8m 150mm deck boards (allows for cladding the sides). Approx £120

500 deck screws, Screwfix code 73014 £20.

100 structural screws, Screwfix code 6167x £21.

A bit of landscaping fabric to suppress weeds beneath. Approx £10.

5mm spacers to evenly space the boards and take out the inevitable bends in them. I use 5mm hardwood, remove them as you screw down each board.

The pad feet sound a good idea, presuming they will take a 4x4 post. You will need a post in each corner and a central one fixed to a joist. If I were building this I would put an extra post halfway down each side, but I think you'll be fine without as it's for light use. I always use stainless screws, but no need for this job.

Make up your 2.4m frame, get it square, mark the joist centres at 40cm, then simply cut the joists ACCURATELY to fit (any deviation of more than 1mm will bend the frame and the boards won't fit precisely). Screw the joists to the frame through their end grain. You should be able to slide the entire framework up and down on the posts in the pad feet to level, screw to the posts and saw off the excess.

Disclaimer: this is the cheapest method, I use all stainless screws and more posts concreted in. I also fit the frame to the posts by cutting an L shape in each post to precisely cradle the frame, which takes time.

Also, I know this is sneaky, but if there is a ban on poured concrete you could get away with dry mixed concrete rammed hard around each post. In which case, holes 2' deep, 1 25kg bag of ballast mixed with 1 shovel of cement per post, total cost £20.

Perfect, cheers buddy. I used to build scenery backdrops, I can do the hammering together but just not the planning...
Ilm levelling the space right now and unless I fill in the fire pit I’m looking at more like 7x5 now but 8x8 makes way more sense.
That pile of turf came from just chipping out the edge of the plot.

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That's why labourers were created by a benevolent deity! Seriously, why bother levelling when you could simply clad the sides? Just build a framework as below and deck over it, you have little height difference so it won't be much of a step and won't cost much.

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A good mulch is what it needs, I reckon. Maybe stash a nice layer of bark on top of your top dressing? Something to keep it moist.

My hydrangea is looking terrible at the moment. Any ideas what would be wrong with it.

The leaves have started to go dark and brittle and the flowers have died?

Pictures to follow

frost?

Frosty yet again this morning :(, parts of the garden look trashed and the magnolia is just brown.

Not going to win any prizes for lawning but I've raked over some top dressing and seed. Hopefully this will become green.

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