A Scottish couple claimed their 6ft wooden fence was needed to protect their privacy but they were ordered to cut it in half following a battle with government officials
A war over a fence has gone all the way up to the government, prompting a drastic decision. Couple Gordon and Doreen Thomson built a 6ft fence to protect their privacy and have since been ordered to cut it in half after losing a battle with planners.
The pair claimed they needed the wooden fence to shield their property in Bathgate, West Lothian. They raised it beside their semi-detached home with the intention of creating a seating area to enjoy warm weather as well as adding value to their property. But the West Lothian Council ruled they had breached planning laws and ordered them to lower it by 3ft.
They appealed to the Scottish Government, who have now upheld the council decision. An appeal letter from the Thomsons said: “This fence was erected solely to improve our privacy as it’s a public footpath on the other side.
“All we were trying to do is improve our property and put value on our property. We are planning to make this a sitting area in summer as we do not have any area to sit at the rear of the property due to restricted space and no sunlight.
“We firmly believe this fence being erected wasn’t doing anyone any harm.” In their enforcement notice, the council said: “The fence has been erected at the side of the property/forward of the side elevation of the house closest to a road and exceeds 1m in height therefore it does not conform to the householder permitted rights set out in planning legislation.”
Government reporter Simon Bonsall ordered the fence to be reduced in height. He added: “I find that the remedy for the breach set out is not excessive and the compliance period is not unreasonable.
“Therefore, the appeal does not succeed.” The work has to be completed within two months.
According to data from the Scottish government, between 2018 and 2022 about 94 per cent of planning is approved. This means that about 6 per cent of applications are refused or withdrawn.
In comparison, in England about 87 per cent of planning applications are successful, although this can vary greatly with some having a near 99 per cent rate and others as low as 99 per cent.
Local authorities in England received 96,000 applications between January and March 2023, down 13 per cent from the same quarter in the previous year.
Some 75,000 decisions were granted over the same time period in England. This represented an estimated 11 per cent downward trend from the same quarter a year earlier. Authorities granted 86 per cent of all decisions, down one percentage point from the same quarter a year earlier
