Family told new garden fence must come down and the reason is baffling | UK | News
A family has been told to remove the wooden fence separating their front garden from the main road after their application to keep it was rejected.
Sophie Daly had sought permission to maintain the fence, which is 1.98 meters at its highest point and is taller than the “dwarf wall”, claiming that, along with a garden gate, it provided greater safety and security for her child and the family’s large dog.
He argued that it provided better protection for the detached two-storey property against noise and pollution caused by the busy A48 near his home in Chepstow, compared to the fencing it replaced. The fence was erected at the house in St Lawrence Road between February and April this year and Ms Daly made a retrospective application in August. WalesOnline reports.
Its application was supported by Paul Pavia, Conservative councilor for the town’s Mount Pleasant ward, Chepstow Borough Council, and the only neighbor to respond to Monmouthshire County Council’s planning department. But council planners disagreed, stating that given the “prominent location” at the entrance to the town, the gate and fence “caused unacceptable damage to the visual beauty and open character of the area”, leading them to recommend rejection.
Planning officer Philip Thomas stressed that the property was located at a “visually prominent entrance to Chepstow”. Planning committee members agreed and rejected the application, but three councilors opposed the recommendation for refusal and one abstained.
Conservative councilor for Devauden, Rachel Buckler, acknowledged the concerns but said: “I think it’s harmful and not up to code and in my opinion a fence would have been better.”
Emma Bryn, independent member for Wyesham, expressed concern that approving the fence could “set a precedent” by having a “really negative impact on Chepstow’s environment”.
Major Pavia reminded the committee that neither the council’s highways department nor the Welsh Government, which oversees the A48, had objected and argued that the fence provided “protection from one of Chepstow’s busiest roads”.
He also commented: “Very close to the notorious Highbeech roundabout. Not a rural strip but a noisy, dirty urban corridor.”
The committee was also advised to reject the application because there was insufficient “appropriate ecological mitigation or compensation” for the removed fence.
Ms Dally’s application proposed providing a bird box and a “bug hotel” in the front garden.
