Front fence and enforcement notice

[henry1]

Let us know how it ends up.
I reckon, if it really is now permitted development, you'll receive a number of letters threatening court, however, no summons will materialise...

What would they gain by doing this though - these empty threats? It's not like a debt that needs paying so they would get their money. The fence is already pd now.
They could just say/admit that as the fence is pd, they won't take it further and save their time.

 

[jacko555]

What would they gain by doing this though - these empty threats?

I read about it a lot (check the forum for thread about decking on sloping land and where the 300mm point is measured from).

I get the impression that some planning officers can be officious. They're made their ruling.

However, having to justify to their team / budget holder to pay for a court case means they've got to be *really* sure they'll win (otherwise waste of money etc), and, make them look like a tit chasing someone for something that's now PD.

Wait for the summons from the court itself. Not a letter from the planners, an actual summons. If you really don't want to gamble, pull the fence then.

If your fence really does qualify as PD now, and you've let the planners know this, it's bluster. In my humble opinion.

Note: pictures would be nice

 

[blup]

The other possibility is that pd rights have been removed or the fence isn't a means of enclosure i.e. doesn't run along the boundary.

Blup

 

[henry1]

They've inspected the fence on the day of the deadline, that's how keen they are. So they know it's PD.

 

[henry1]

The other possibility is that pd rights have been removed or the fence isn't a means of enclosure i.e. doesn't run along the boundary.

Blup

No, the issue was always about the height of the fence.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Why won't you post a photo?

 

[^woody^]

Well, enforcement is not settled

Of course it's settled, it's being enforced!

 

[Alec_t]

Take it down (thereby complying with the notice). Saw it to permitted size if necessary. Re-erect it under PD.

 

[henry1]

Take it down (thereby complying with the notice). Saw it to permitted size if necessary. Re-erect it under PD.

In the end I went with this option.
I asked the council if I could re-erect it according to the requirements of PD, just to be sure since they wanted the whole fence down and they asked to apply for a cert of lawful dev, which I did and received.

I was quite confident that the council would have taken the matter to court. I keep reading how councils waste money, so this wouldn't be a big hole in their pocket at all.

Before taking down the fence, I did try to get some legal advice and would have happily paid for it but those solicitors' prices were much more expensive than the price of taking down my fence and putting another back up, and with no guarantee of any positive outcome. But someone did tell me that once I get the court summons, even if I removed the fence then, I would still pay court fees. And that with the enforcement notice, it's black and white. The judge would look at whether I've complied fully with the notice or not, and not look at whether the fence in its current state is within PD, etc.
Not worth all this hassle for what is just a fence..

 

[clifford1]

It's nice to hear for a change of a council that is not short of money, and whose staff are all at work busy attending promptly and proactively to major breaches of planning laws. To read the newspapers you'd think that half the staff were still "working" from home and that backlogs were now measured in years not days.

 

[noseall]

On the other side of the coin - some folk think they can build what ever (shoite) they like without repercussions.