Retired Couple Unsuccessful in Appeal Over Controversial Privacy Fence

A retired couple could be forced to tear down a £4,500 privacy fence outside their home after losing a planning appeal.

David and Denise Hopwood installed the 82-ft long grey composite fence at their property in Bolton, Greater Manchester, to replace a nine-foot hedge they said had become too expensive and difficult to maintain.

However, after a neighbour complained about the fence's 7ft height, the couple were required to apply for retrospective planning permission. The application was later refused by the council, which said the structure was out of keeping with the "character and appearance of the surrounding area".

The Hopwoods appealed the decision, but Bolton Council upheld the refusal this week following a site visit last month.

Planning documents outlined five reasons for dismissing the appeal, stating that the fence's location, materials, colour and size meant it "appears a discordant and strident feature in the street scene".

The couple said maintaining the previous hedge cost around £800 a year, while the new fence — which includes a one-foot trellis and gravel boards — had "transformed" their daily lives.

Mr Hopwood said: "We both have arthritis and the hedge was out of control. We weren't able to look after it. We put the fence up for privacy and security, and because it is much easier to maintain.

"I feel we have been hard done by with claims that it doesn't fit with the street scene. There isn't one style that fits all here — there's already a mix along the road.

"The colour is our choice and I don't understand why it's an issue. There is a jet-black one across the road and a number of brick walls. I feel like we've been picked on."

Before installing the fence, the couple said they were forced to peg blankets to their washing line to stop passers-by from looking into their home after the hedge was removed.

Although they have not yet received an enforcement notice, Mr Hopwood said being forced to remove the fence would be "terrible".

"The appeal is the end of the line and an enforcement notice is usually the next step," he said. "The whole ordeal has been very stressful.

"Hopefully they will just ask us to change the colour rather than remove it entirely."

In their report, the planning inspector said homes in the area are generally characterised by relatively open frontages with low walls, timber fencing or railings, often softened by mature hedging.

The inspector noted that the fence sits at the back edge of the pavement and is "very prominent" when travelling along the road.

Despite being topped with a decorative trellis, the report concluded the structure fully encloses the frontage and appears "at odds with the open frontages, low walls and hedgerows of the dwellings opposite".

It also said there was "insufficient evidence" to show that a safe and private environment for the property could not be achieved "in a manner which causes less harm to the character and appearance of the area".

Whitestone Solicitors