Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[pdb]

hello i dont know if this is the right place to ask but i am just starting to keep bees and have been building my own hives and i placed them in the garden and one person next door said theres a law out saying i cant keep beers in my garden i live in a Terraced house my garden backs on to a small park ive got six feet high fence all around can any one help before i spend any more money thank you

[BridgetB]

In the UK there is no law about bees as such, but there is a law about nuisance eg lighting smoky bonfires.
The best thing to do is talk to your neighbours, find out their worries and try to allay their fears. I made the mistake of bringing bees into a very small garden (without telling the neighbours!) and they weren't very well and were dying on my neighbour's lawn and going in their house! I had to promise to move them, which I did and found someone who welcomed them. By the time I moved them, the bees had settled down and weren't a problem, but my neighbours were still worried about their little dog and a new baby crawling on the grass and stepping on a bee. Doing bee inspections or a swarm arriving can be disconcerting to neighbours. On the other hand, I met someone in Plymouth who only had a tiny back yard and had about 7 hives in it (or more!)