My criminal neighbour turned lovely hedge into a 7ft-tall PRISON fence – it’s a monstrosity… but he got his comeuppance
A HOMEOWNER who replaced his garden hedge with an imposing 7ft-tall fence has been punished for the “unsightly” transformation.
Neighbours fumed that Farhan Khan’s wooden boundary needed “to come down” when he erected the paling on top of an existing brick wall in Southampton in 2020.
But Khan did not apply for permission and was told he had broken the rules.
He applied for retrospective permission but was turned down by the local council.
In May last year, the council ordered Khan to tear down the fence by the end of June.
The homeowner attempted to appeal the decision but was too late.
On November 13 Khan admitted failing to comply with a Planning Enforcement Notice at Southampton Magistrates’ Court.
The offence specifically covers failing to meet the requirements of a notice after the time limit has expired.
Khan was fined a total of £622, giving him a criminal record for the fence mistake.
If he continues to ignore orders to rip down the barrier, the council could soon take down the fence themselves.
The decision has split opinion amongst neighbours.
“It must be like a prison, it had a dwarf wall and then a lovely hedge, but [the fence] is enormous and horrible looking,” one local told MailOnline.
A second expressed sympathy that Mr Khan now has a criminal record following the spat.
They said: “The fence needs to come down.
“I can understand why he needed to enclose the garden, the fence is very unsightly, it should be green otherwise you are losing the avenue being green.
“It has set a precedent, we have ended up with the guy on the other side putting his up.
“That is a shame about the criminal record, I am shocked.
“They are perfectly amenable people, I don’t think they get it, this road has been chipped away at, it is the entrance to our city, it is part of our showcase and it needs to be kept.
I can understand why he needed to enclose the garden, the fence is very unsightly, it should be green otherwise you are losing the avenue being green
Neighbour
“We go to great lengths to look after the trees.”
Property developer Ihsan Mabood, who lives opposite, slammed the removal order.
“I think it is nonsense to remove the fences, it is for privacy, more privacy is better than nothing, I am totally against it,” he seethed.
“We have had an issue with people throwing old tyres or rubbish from the building sites.”
Councillor Sarah Bogle, cabinet member for economic development, said the planning enforcement team took the “appropriate action”.
She said: “The planning system exists to balance an owners’ rights with those of their neighbours, communities, and others.
“A key concern for local people in Bassett is the protection of the character of the area which is enshrined in the Bassett Neighbourhood Plan.
“In this case, our planning enforcement team took the appropriate action by bringing this prosecution to maintain the unique character of the Bassett area and support local peoples’ priorities as laid out in the neighbourhood plan.”
What are your rights over a fence row?
IT'S very important to know your rights if you are embroiled in a fence row with a neighbour.
How do I know which side I own?
A boundary feature can be a fence, wall, hedge, ditch, piece of wire, or sometimes even just the edge of a driveway.
The only way to know for certain who owns what side and to avoid any neighbour disputes, is to refer to the title plan or Land Registry.
In this, the T mark is used to indicate who the boundary belongs to and therefore who is responsible for its upkeep, say pros at Jacksons Fencing.
Larger developments tend to have some indication provided by the builder, but there are no hard and fast rules
People often think they are responsible for the left (or right) hand boundary wherever they live, but there isn’t any legal basis for this.
You can check with HM Land Registry to see which boundary feature you are responsible for.
Often households can’t get hold of the paperwork but experts say they shouldn’t panic.
Homeowners can guess who owns the fence by checking where the rails are.
Pros say: “The fence is typically facing away from their property so that their neighbour gets the ‘good’ side.
“This is the most secure way of facing fencing so there are no rails for anyone to use to climb into your garden.
“This is then repeated with the neighbour on the other side to ensure that each home has both a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fence side.”
Walls and fences are often built on the land of the boundary’s owner with the edge of the wall marking the limit.
While professionals agree a glimpse at the fence can give you a hint, it’s not foolproof – so you can’t be certain.
Fines and punishment
It is recommended to always check legal documents before making changes to avoid hefty fines.
There is no law that the neighbour has to get the good side of the fence, so it’s completely up to whoever owns the fence.
Fencing pros have suggested: “It may be worth selecting a double-sided panel with no ‘bad’ side as both sides look the same and rails are concealed within the fence panel.”
If one boundary backs onto a road or footpath you can install the panels with the rails on the inside
But if it’s installed on the outside, it can provide an “easy ladder for burglars to enter your garden”.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Property Litigation Association have created a mediation service to help neighbours resolve disputes over their property boundaries without resorting to court action.
RICS also provides a list of surveyors who could assist in boundary disputes.
If a dispute continues, it is ultimately a court that makes decisions, but they do not like such disputes being put before them.
Changing a boundary
If you want to change an existing boundary, such as replacing an old fence with a new one, we always recommend discussing with your neighbour first and making sure it is all agreed.
The registered titles can help you to reach an agreement, but only if this information has been added.
In terms of decorations on a fence legal advisers recommended asking around over who actually first installed it.
But they also urged caution before getting to work on amending the fence without getting more certainty yourself – since there is a danger of actually being prosecuted for criminal damage.
How high can a garden fence be?
The height of the fence is measured from your ground level, this can have an impact when, due to slopes in the ground, your garden may be at a higher level than your neighbours‘.
A garden fence can be as high as 100m but you need to get planning permission if it’s over than 2m.
However, there are some complications to this.
If you are thinking about front garden fences, restrictions state that fences alongside a driveway can be a maximum of 1m or 3ft.
You would need to get planning permission for putting a trellis on a fence of 2m.
But, if any plant that you grow on that trellis exceeds 2m, you do not need to obtain a permit for the growing plant.