‘You can’t put a fence around your own land for these reasons’ - planners tell Telford resident
A Telford resident has been told they cannot legally put a fence around land that they own.
The householder in Cooper Close, Priorslee, has a plot with four trees in place which, although they own, is classified as private open space.
The owner had applied to Telford & Wrekin Council to change the land to private garden land and put up a 2m-high boundary fence.
But council planners have refused permission writing to applicant Stephen Blakemore that it would cause “significant harm to the character and appearance of the area".
“The area of land in question contributes positively to the overarching character of the surrounding area whilst providing a green buffer zone between residential dwellings, which would subsequently be lost as a result of the enclosure of this piece of land,” planners wrote.
Putting a fence up to enclose the land would also go right up to the edge of a neighbour’s parking area which “would have unacceptable detrimental impact on the visibility splay".
St George’s & Priorslee Parish Council had also objected, writing that the changes would be “out of keeping with the open aspect of the area".
A neighbour also said the 6ft fence “does not fit in with aesthetic or character of the surrounding properties or the wider estate".
They said they would a “prefer hedge or brick/fence panel combination".
Planners concluded that “although this piece of land is within the ownership of the applicant, it is not formally enclosed as part of the private garden land".
“As such, the piece of land in question is currently classed as open space serving as landscape amenity land, contributing positively to the character of the area.“
