Overview
- The appeal was dismissed this week after a site visit last month, upholding last year’s refusal of retrospective permission.
- The decision cited the fence’s location, materials, colour and size, describing it as a discordant and strident feature at odds with generally open frontages.
- The boundary is a 25‑metre, 2.1‑metre‑high grey/black composite fence with a one‑foot trellis and gravel boards, reported to have cost about £4,500.
- David and Denise Hopwood installed it to replace a nine‑foot hedge they could no longer maintain, saying upkeep cost around £800 a year and both have arthritis.
- The couple say no enforcement notice has been served yet but they expect one could require alterations or removal, and they hope any order focuses on colour.