by A homeowner who spent £12,000 on a “beautiful” new garden wall has been ordered to tear it down after a council said it was 20cm too high.
Bear Mason, 74, built the 4-foot stone wall to replace a six-foot fence at the edge of his garden. He built the wall lower than the original fence but it was too high for people to sit on for fear of eating the sharp drop on the rock below.
However, Northumberland County Council bosses said someone had complained about the 20m long sandstone wall and ordered it to be torn down.
Mason, who lives in the village of Greenhead, just a few miles from the famous Hadrian’s Wall, said he did not know he needed planning permission. The retired maths teacher and A-Level examiner said: “This summer we paid £12,000 for a beautiful new wall between our garden and the road. It’s lower than the rickety fence that replaced it.
“Northumberland County Council have told us they are going to bulldoze it now if we don’t pay to lower it by eight inches. The wooden fence was 1.8 meters high and it was falling to bits, and it could fall with a high wind.
“We took the wall to a height of 1.2 meters externally for health and safety reasons as there is a two meter drop into the garden, onto rocks internally. At 1.2 meters walkers and drunks can’t sit on it, and tackle with it, but at one meter high, which is the planning condition, the situation is much more dangerous.”
Mason said that because the wooden fence was much taller than the stone replacement, he and his wife Sharon, 64, had “no idea” the new wall would be in breach of regulations. “We are pensioners. We don’t have £12,000 to rebuild it,” he said. “Our wall is much nicer than it was before and it is safe. We are mortified. Ironic too that we live in what is called Hadrian’s Wall Country.”
‘We know who complained’
The couple will now have to “disconnect” the wall from the adjoining Grade I listed bridge.
He said: “We have a good idea of who complained to the council and they have some strange ideas. Most of the fences and walls in the village are over 6ft high but because they have stood for over four years they have been exempt from planning laws. The whole thing is barmy.”
The couple will now apply for retrospective planning permission to keep their wall at its current height.
A spokesman for Northumberland County Council said: “We were informed that a wall had been built at this property without planning permission and upon further inspection it was found to be connected to a listed bridge. Therefore it is unacceptable and has been we asked that it be removed.
“We also gave the householder the option to reduce it to one meter in height and remove it from the listed bridge.”
What can I build without planning permission?
Some projects do not require planning permission due to ‘permitted development rights’. Building projects that typically have approved development rights include industrial premises and warehouses, some outdoor signage and advertising and demolition.
Other projects may not require planning permission – such as those that will have no impact on your neighbors or the environment, so if you think this might apply to you, check with your local planning authority through your local council.
There has been some criticism of the gradual exercise of permitted development rights. The housing charity Shelter warned in 2019 that the widespread use of permitted development rights (PDR) meant that local authorities cannot decide whether a scheme is of acceptable quality to go ahead, or whether it is safe.
According to industry magazine The Developer, the House of Lords recently voted through an amendment to the Upgrading and Revitalization Bill that would ensure new homes built under PDR meet a minimum ‘healthy homes’ requirement amid fears that many of the 100,000 dwellings was created in. in the last 10 years lack of adequate safety features.
How do I get planning permission?
Planning permission may be required if you are thinking of building something new, making significant changes to your existing building, such as adding an extension, or changing the use of your building. If your project requires planning permission and you continue without it, you risk being served with an enforcement notice requiring you to undo all the changes.
It is illegal to ignore an enforcement notice but you have the option of appealing against it. To apply for planning permission, contact your local planning authority through your local council.
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