Neighbour dispute over shed on boundary wall

[LauraSl]

My house and my next door neighbours house is staggered so their external wall is next to our drive. My husband has built a storage shed, less than 2.5m high at the front of our house to store kids scooters and bikes. He screwed into their external wall and stupidly didn’t ask their permission! This obviously upset them and they asked for the screws to be removed. We did as they asked and there are no screws going into their wall. But now they are complaining that the shed is touching their wall. The frame is touching their wall, nothing else, there is no side to the shed. They are asking that the shed be made shorter so it’s not touching their wall because they are worried about damp. The shed doesn’t have a wall at the end but is watertight by the roof. I have a few questions about this and want to know where I stand.
1) as the houses are staggered and their external wall is next to our drive is it a party wall or boundary wall?
2) can our shed be touching their wall?
3) if we shorter the shed and leave a gap surely water will get down the gap and be more likely to cause damp?
4) if we do have to take it away from their wall is their a distance we need to be away from their wall?

any advice and guidance would be great.

[des8]

From your description (sketch or photo might be useful) it seems it is not a party wall.
Although you can build up to the boundary your shed should not touch their property
Legally there is no minimum gap (so your neighbour might like to allow you to cut flashing into their wall to prevent possible damp problems)

Driving screws into the wall without permission might not have been the best approach, but it seems silly to have a huge falling out over it.
You still have to live next door to each other!
Try tea and cake and have a friendly discussion

[islandgirl]

An excellent suggestion - do not fall out over this! Have a friendly chat but be prepared to agree to what your neighbour wants. Hopefully there is a compromise position somewhere!

[LauraSl]

They want us to make it shorter so it’s not touching their wall but I’m worried that water will get down the gap and more likely to cause damp then if it was up against the wall?

[des8]

Not having a picture of the situation I'm not sure if that is shorter in height or length, or how the buildings are situate.
However the best way forward is an open and frank discussion with your neighbours in spite of Covid restrictions!)

[LauraSl]

Here are some pictures. So the wall on the right is the neighbours wall. The inside picture is the frame that’s not attached to the wall, just touching it. We can make it shorter in length but I’m worried about rain going down the gap and causing them damp. How close can you be to their wall?

[des8]

You can be as close as you like without actually touching it....so one millimetre!

A solution could be Flashband (other makes are available) if your neighbour is concerned about damp.