Amala Singh

A neighbour has placed a fence the other side. But there is hedge before that. It may not be seen in the images. But the fence is open as it is the drive way. My intention was not actually 'no regard'. I wanted to safeguard my property against the walkers. I was told by many people a fence does not need PP. I came to know all these hassles , opinions after installing it. I regret it . Because installing a fence is very expensive. Taking that down also costs half of it. If I take that down, I lose safeguarding the premise, lose privacy and the space I can use it a hobby space for gardening etc. Making it empty and you own, not able to safe guard you, do not make much sense as well. As well, it is considerably large space, I have to maintain, the terrain is not flat. I have to trim the hedges, mow the lawn. It is too hard for me if I cannot keep the garden space the way I want to. The space could have been not sold to me instead.

Ugly is very contextual sir. Even the hedges look ugly to some people. I am not sure why fence should be ugly as fences are there every where and it is the same wood. Nevertheless, thanks for your feedback.

Actually it is 'lawful development certificate' , not PP. I want to circumvent PP as it is a lengthy process, but I may do at the cost of another 200+ pounds. Can also wait until Enforcement action, if they want to do. Council is too busy to do Enforcement action, so never know. But I can appeal at Enforcement if any and negotiate which may be better option than PP.

who the planner? Planning officer from council? They give as less information as possible , that is how they made me withdraw the application. Adjacent to high way is not a strict term by law, the authorities can decide on case by case. If the officer visited the site , how much is adjacent, In most scenarios it is 1m. But they dont want me to change anything. Otherwise I am willing to compromise, I can put back original hedges they laid, and put the fence back of it. Probably I can wait until the enforcement letter, so I can appeal and discuss.

It was a lengthy document, you sign and forget. But when I spoke to the builder once, they said I can do anything after 2 years. But she misled me. The deed specifies a period of 5 years some where. So does it mean, I cannot escape PP? The council is not talking about deed. They forced me to withdraw because of the law. But my point is, the changes could be within limits, if inspected by a specialist.

I am under the impression the path is not part of high way as it is separate, divided by verge. That is what my argument. Otherwise, no option than PP

Yes. Deed states I cannot alter boundaries without PP. Only thing the builder can do is, complaining to the council. Council can enforce. But only if it is unlawful right? ha ha

The officer did not mention that while asking me to withdraw the application. He sighted it is above 1m next to high way. And he mentioned it is meant to be soft landscaping. That is what made me confuse. The deed did not say anything about public amenity or curtilage, I believe so. Otherwise the officer might have hinted me. They just want to discourage me altering it.

It is all generic deed. It says I should not extend the boundaries without the consent of council and the builder. The builders put in some native hedges, but I removed them to secure the property with fence. The colour will fade away, so I think it is fine. But will that matter? My question was about the legality of calling next to high way , but it is too far away from the high way, and the path is separate. So I want to skip the PP with that kind of escape. The council outsmarted me by making me withdrawing the application so I cannot appeal against the rule.

My house is a new build, around 2.5 years old. Extended the fence to the right side, as I own the space. In the drawing the red lines are previous fence. I extended the fence to my legal boundary limit so I can enjoy the space. The builder sent me email to take it down as I am not allowed to alter the borders , as in the deed without planning permission. So I applied for lawful development certificate. The fee is around 200+ pounds. They validated and accepted. Then came back and asked me to withdraw, as I put in a wront application type. He said fence over 1m and adjacent to highway need a planning permission. Actually everything is within planning permission. So got confused. Then asked him, if I apply as a different type, will I get permission. He said, most probably it will get rejected, as the space is supposed to be for soft landscaping. Again I got confused. It has been couple of months, I have been investigating, investigating. I didn't want to spend another 200+ for another application and get it rejected. And then google brought me here. I noticed there are some discussions already about it. I get knowledgeble every day. I went to a PP website, even paid 100+ pounds for consultation. they said spend another 700+ for planning statement, found they want to milk money with probability of positive outcome. I know from forums 'Adjacent to highway' is meant by different inspectors differently. So the council officer should have rejected my application and should have told reason than asking me to withdraw the application. It is a kind of citizen scam. To use my legal boundary, they put in too many rules. This law of 'adjacent to highway' is totally stupid. You can say it is for safety. If it is for safety reason , the law should say safety reasons. It is all presumable and gives varieties of opinions. Many places they ask to cut down the fence for drivers visibility. The hedges are allowed. If the hedges can block visibility , it is still allowed. Totally stupid again. Now coming to the point again. 'Adjacent to highway/pathway' all put together. Adjacent not defined well. Some places they ask to put back 1m. Now. my question is the pathway is divided by verge and tree is planted there. In most cases, highway, path followed by verge, here the path is split by verge. So , there is no visibility issue for drivers definitely as the fence is many meters away from highway. Now do they need to consider the visibility for the walkers as well? I have inadvertenly withdrew the application and now I am lamenting for that. I have sent an email to the council, to take the application back. Most probably they will not do so. If they refused to give me the certification instead of withdrawing it, probably they should have given some reasons, how much distance I have to leave etc? Probably I should have put in hedges in front. In the beginning , I didn't know all these nonsenses. Now what should I do?