Court action has been threatened against neighbours in Wales because of the height of their fences.
In response to enforcement notifications from the local council, residents of Lliswerry, Newport united.
In a circumstance that has been called “farcical,” three people have now been instructed to destroy their fences.
According to enforcement notices they got, they needed to get planning authorization.
The council’s chain reaction of fence furore began with Corinne Winslett.
Officials had noticed her taller-than-usual fence and investigated nearby properties.
Angela Cureton, 78, was next to find herself in deep water over her half-finished fence.
She told WalesOnline: ‘Just before December I received the first letter, and of course when I saw it I became very upset.
‘You can see the fence gives me privacy.
‘The letter said by law it shouldn’t have been erected and that I needed permission. I took it personally, I took it as though people had been complaining.
‘All my neighbours around here I know very well and it hurt to think that may have happened. I went and asked every individual about the fence and they said: “No, there is no problem with it Ang. It’s absolutely super.”‘
The council has sent Angela a diagram of what she needs to do to avoid court action which includes demolishing the fence and rebuilding it to around half its size.
She will struggle to find the funds to carry out the work.
Meanwhile, Corinne says she’s prepared to go to court over her fence which splits the driveways between her and her neighbour.
She said: ‘Mine started because of a complaint. They said they couldn’t see off the end of the drive. But if you drive around the estate you’ll see so many other similar fences. When I got the letter I thought it was a joke.
‘They’re all over Newport, there are hundreds and hundreds of fences like it.’
Lianne Garnett also found herself embroiled in the dispute over a composite fence which stretches a few metres outside her home.
She’s also received a notice in the last couple of months informing her she needs to remove the fence. She says it’ll leave her with no privacy in her garden.
The fence fury was hotly debated at a recent local authority meeting.
Councillor Allan Morris said: ‘The fences don’t look bad. If someone had made a fence out of crates you could understand. If people had been complaining to us we’d understand it, but we’ve not had anyone come to us.
‘It doesn’t make sense. We are talking about a time where the council can’t empty people’s bins every couple of weeks but they are prepared to spend money taking action in this way against people with fences that are attracting very few complaints.’
A council spokesperson said: ‘Newport City Council is legally obliged to investigate complaints in relation to breaches of planning regulations and, if necessary, take action including the serving of enforcement notices.
‘Enforcement notices were served on two properties in the Lliswerry area after complaints about unauthorised fences were received.
‘The council then received a large number of complaints about differing types of means of enclosures for the boundaries of properties in the area. Each was investigated but only four were found to be in breach of planning legislation.
‘As a result, enforcement notices were served in each case. Formal enforcement action is a last resort when negotiations have failed to resolve the breach of planning control.
‘There is an independent appeal process for people who wish to challenge the notice or an application that has been refused. Court action is only taken if remedial action is not undertaken by the property owner and the council would be able to recover its costs.’