Bought house. Council asking for fence to be taken down

Section62

daveyjp said:

As Enforcement can take months or years. Plant a fast growing hedge, play the delay game, when the hedge is 2 metres high replace the fence with 1m railings, keep the hedge.

As the council have already threatened to issue an enforcement notice the OP would be unwise to play this game.

The end of the enforcement process can take months or years, but it doesn't take that long for an enforcement notice to be served.  There was a thread on here a couple of weeks ago from someone looking at buying a property with an enforcement notice on a 2m front wall - once issued they don't go away in a hurry, the potential impact on the OP's ability to sell the property in the future needs to be taken into account.

If the OP wants to try their luck then it is much better to remove the fence asap, then apply for consent, and appeal if necessary.

jimbog

Maybe a compromise would be that the panels are removed at the extreme corner and replaced with a link fence to maintain visibility at the junction and those panels used within your garden to maintain privacy. 

As for the fence panels themselves, could you propose they be stained to match the neighbouring Victorian frontages?

Are there covenants with the house that dictate the height of the fencing that can be used?

Try and work with the council to reach a compromise in the first instance. Could you involve your local councillor too?

Section62

diystarter7 said:

You can buy 2m connifers.
Claim against the indemnity insurance.

Do you think the indemnity insurance will pay for 2m conifers?  Is that how it works?

mrschaucer

Erect a 1 meter fence, or whatever they want, on your boundary and then plant a hedge inside it x meter/s away from the fence/boundary for privacy?  I don't know what distance x needs to be to keep the council happy though, and what the laws are on having hedging INSIDE your property that is not on the boundary.

[Deleted User]

You aren't allowed to have a 2M hedge either. What you can have is a number of non-hedge plants that form a barrier. Small trees, something like that.

Section62

FreeBear said:

jojothefirst said: [the conifers] made the view at the junction far more restricting than the fence. I printed these off and showed the council when the visited on may 20th but even though he agreed with what i just said, it doesnt matter! 

I'm afraid I would have to agree the Highways Dept and the council - A 2m fence would restrict the view at that junction, and losing the conifer hedge has improved things considerably.

Now that the property is on the council's radar, planting another hedge and allowing it to grow could store up problems for the future. So follow their recommendations and put some 1m fence panels in.

I agree.  Looking at the old hedge the trunks are almost on the boundary, but all the branches on the road side have been carefully shorn off.

I suspect there has been some council involvement in the past - e.g. insisting the old hedge was cut back to the boundary so it didn't overhang the footway.

Those suggesting planting a 2m hedge have to realise this will need to be planted some distance in from the boundary and would result in quite a wide strip around a not very large garden being made unusable.

aoleks

The whole privacy argument is bulls**t, sorry. You don’t need a prison fence around your house to have privacy. What does that even mean, anyway?

having said that, fences are not subject to planning permission IF!!! they’re the right size.

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/fences-gates-and-garden-walls/planning-permission

any restrictive covenants on your title?

Snuggles

aoleks said:

The whole privacy argument is bulls**t, sorry. You don’t need a prison fence around your house to have privacy. What does that even mean, anyway?

Whilst I think it's clear that a 2m high fence in that location was never going to be acceptable to the council, I don't understand this comment. Lots of people like to have privacy in their garden, there's nothing bullsh**t about that. Yes, it won't wash with the council as an argument, but there's nothing unusual about wanting private outside space.

Section62

aoleks said:

having said that, fences are not subject to planning permission IF!!! they’re the right size.

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/fences-gates-and-garden-walls/planning-permission

Boundary fences are subject to planning consent.

If the proposed fence meets all the requirements (not just size) then it should be permitted development if PD rights still apply to the property.

The council has already written to the OP explaining that they could have a lower fence, presumably as PD.

jojothefirst

Section62 said:

FreeBear said:

jojothefirst said: [the conifers] made the view at the junction far more restricting than the fence. I printed these off and showed the council when the visited on may 20th but even though he agreed with what i just said, it doesnt matter! 

I'm afraid I would have to agree the Highways Dept and the council - A 2m fence would restrict the view at that junction, and losing the conifer hedge has improved things considerably.

Now that the property is on the council's radar, planting another hedge and allowing it to grow could store up problems for the future. So follow their recommendations and put some 1m fence panels in.

I agree.  Looking at the old hedge the trunks are almost on the boundary, but all the branches on the road side have been carefully shorn off.

I suspect there has been some council involvement in the past - e.g. insisting the old hedge was cut back to the boundary so it didn't overhang the footway.

Those suggesting planting a 2m hedge have to realise this will need to be planted some distance in from the boundary and would result in quite a wide strip around a not very large garden being made unusable.

Yes you are very right. The garden isnt big and is our only play space for the kids so dont want to take more of the space up with wide hedges. 
And simply cuting the fence to 1m high gives no privacy so the garden becomes unusual. 

Is their any other options! Only thing i can think of is to ask to build a 2m high brick wall which doesnt solve the issue with their perceived lack of visability at the  junction ( the fence does not not cause a issue..... The cars parked on the road do however.

Where do i stand with other houses in the near by streets having 1m+ high fences...... Can i use that somehow without making a complaint against them?