One other aspect which you need to take into account when planning any construction work, be it changes to your buildings or your garden, is the Party Wall Act 1996. This came into force on 1 July 1997 but many builders seem ignorant of its existence.
Basically, if you intend making any excavations within 6 metres (20 feet) of your neighbours’ buildings or of a garden structure which has foundations e.g. a stone or brick wall, you may need to serve notice of your intentions on your neighbour through a Party Wall Surveyor. It all depends on how deep your foundations will be relative to the foundations of your neighbours’ buildings or to the position of a garden structure. You are liable for your own costs as well as the costs of your neighbour’s surveyor if he/she chooses to go to independent arbitration; the advice your neighbour will usually be given is to go to arbitration as he/she has nothing to lose. You do get some benefits as this Act also deals with access rights. Googling Party Wall Act will yield lots of useful information.
