Neighbouring Disputes

Neighbouring disputes can involve property or land matters as well as practical issues such as access, maintenance, hedges or behaviour. With expert knowledge in property matters and a personal interest in investing in good neighbourly relations our mediator is well versed in providing a balanced and safe environment in which the goals, needs and values of each party can be addressed. Advise and assistance can also be found through the RICS.

Understanding, through experience, how demanding a neighbourly dispute can be in terms of time invested, cost and well-being our mediator can inject hope that a resolution is not only possible but probable too. Taking a balanced view by talking the time to fully understand that matters that have led to the dispute can enable the parties, with guidance, to form a mutual position resulting in a resolution that can benefit bothy parties and result in a conclusion that they can live with.

Our mediator will focus on minimising the overall time committed to the dispute which often in itself enables a balanced resolution to be reached as the personal investment is less significant and therefore the ability to direct energy can be targeted to the resolution itself and thereby ensuring a resolution, that is owned and controlled by the parties is achieved.

It is also worthy of consideration that Mediation can be used at any stage of a dispute. It can be the first step towards seeking a resolution of the dispute, which ideally is the favoured starting point, however after any negotiations Mediation can be reverted to or even following resolution where a party has failed to keep to any agreement made, Mediation can again be sought. Mediation can also be used at any time during litigation or arbitration where the parties wish to interrupt process of litigation or arbitration to explore the possibility of settlement through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The Courts will often favour this disputation as ADR becomes a more population avenue in any disputes that arise.

Another way that parties can also seek the benefit of Mediation is in the hope to avoid a full blown dispute. Mediation can be used as a means of dispute prevention than dispute resolution. Parties may engage with the process where problems have arisen but the parties are not yet in dispute and are willing to enter into Mediation in order to help channel the course of negotiations for an agreement where direct negotiations have reached an impasse, but where the parties consider it to be clearly in their economic interests to conclude the agreement rather than enter into proceedings.

There are situations where Mediation may not be the right course of dispute resolution particularly where deliberate, bad-faith counterfeiting or piracy is involved. As Mediation requires the full cooperation of both sides and requires all parties to be honest, open and transparent, it is unlikely to be appropriate in such scenarios as the likelihood of resolution where distrust is at the heart of the dispute is significantly less.

To discuss if the dispute you have is likely to be considered appreciate for the Mediation Process please contact us directly.