retrospective planning permission for a fence?

Hi thank you - we have plans detailing boundaries, there is no footpath to the road but everyone has kept a "grass verge" at the front adjacent to the kerb (ours was made purposly wider at the time - but after it was put up we decided to move it even further back (but we had to ask the contractor to stop works when we were contacted by the enforcement guy and found out we needed permission). the only document we didnt have was the chuffin planning permission the solicitor should have found!!!

Can you find any prior applications on the local authority website, they will have a search function. Alternatively plant a hedge and install your fence behind it.

I'll still recomend you go and see the Highways office - you may be surprised, maybe even pleasantly. We had a similar problem some years ago, we thought we had the definitive plans but the ones they had had much more detail. It even proved that the detail we had from the local council 'searches' when we bought was wrong! We now have a copy of the Highways Office plans.

thanks Old Salt but we are not doing ANYTHING before planning gives us an official nod (got loads of ideas like that but because we cant book pre-advice dont know which one is the best to go for). We have a feeling no matter what we suggest in an application that it will be opposed someone else who lives here has mentioned there has been "recruiting" going on.

thank you we will have a look

Personally, if you think it is likely to be refused, now it's up, I would consider just asking them to enforce if they think it is in the public interest, and not bother with the planning fee.

I see what you are saying Mr Rusty, but without the fence the house just doesnt meet our needs (we wouldnt have bought it if we had been told there was a planning permission with a condition that said planning permission was needed), its really important to us. The enforcement guy said just because it needs permission doesnt mean you wont get it, and when we have asked for advice so far (which we cant get from the planning department) we seem to get yeah they will allow that, and aaaah im not sure for various suggestions we have thought of. We were hoping that the planning officer who would have come round if we could have booked/paid for it would have said "thats more likely to get permission" out of our ideas and then we would have gone for that. I was just hoping that someone may know of a similar case (fencing on open plan thats not really open plan anymore) so we could see what was acceptable.

We wont be able to tell you what is acceptable as all local authorities can have different rules. You need to tell us who your local planning authority is, or make an application, or try the highways agency or contact citizens advice or a solicitor if yours has stuffed up.

An application is fairly simple and you really don't need a meeting with planners. You need a plan of your house and a drawing showing the elevations. This needn't be highly detailed but the outline should be fairly accurate and it must be to a scale of 1:100 or 1:50. You also need a location plan (usually 1:1250) showing your house and nearest neighbours and your property boundary highlighted in red. If you do the application online you can buy a plan for about fifteen or twenty quid during the application process.

Then take a copy of your plan and mark the location of the fence on it and label it clearly - 'NEW FENCE' with an arrow. Label the first drawing 'EXISTING' and the second 'PROPOSED'.
Then take a copy of your elevation drawing and mark the fence on it and label it 'NEW FENCE'. Also mark the height of the fence in millimetres.
You could also add a note as to the type of fence; 50mm timber palings, close boarded timber, feather edge, etc. and you can include a photograph of the fence.
Fill out the form, pay the fee and sit back and wait for 8 weeks.

Someone's doing me out of a job

thank you, advice is greatly appreciated.

Update: We got permission. YAY YAY YAY!!!! It took a long time!!!

The Council would not give us pre-app advice as it was retrospective so we got the help of a planning consultant who was worth her weight in gold.

The objections received, using the words of a neighbour, can only be described as "horrendous". Another neighbour pointed to the house concerned and said it would all be them. Some of the objections were just put on there to humiliate us and upset us.

I did not go to the Committee meeting because I knew one of them would go and do a speech so I arranged for it to be recorded. I am so glad that that neighbour had the gall to turn up to do that speech as she really showed her true colours, she lied, she interrupted, and even claimed to be representing all the neighbours! The Councillors got to see face to face who did it all - not one of them objected.

So it is possible to get permission for a fence in an open plan estate (although most gardens have boundaries now), even with permitted development rights evoked (but we did not know that when we erected it), and with 12 objections (99% of which were probably from the same household or generated by rumours).

Would we ever apply for planning permission again? NO WAY. Not unless the planning portal finds a way to keep the Jeremy Kyle people off it!