Couple ordered to cut £10,000 fence in half after complaints from neighbours

02.01.2023 - 12:43 / dailyrecord.co.uk

A couple say they are being 'unfairly penalised' after the council ordered them to half the height of their £10,000 garden fence. Susan Paul, 53, and her partner Andrew Doyle, 58, put up the fence outside their £280,000 property to replace an overgrown hedge back in January 2020.

However, Wiltshire council has now issued an enforcement notice which states that the two metre tall border must be cut down by 50 per cent, according to the Mirror. The couple, from Amesbury, have until mid-March to adjust the height of the 164ft long fence - and could face legal proceedings if they disobey the order.

But former RAF workers Susan and Paul say they are being unfairly targeted by the council, as 'nothing has happened’ to the owners of several other fences on their street, which they say are exactly the same height. Susan said: "It replaced an overgrown hedge which was leaning over a path, stopping wheelchairs and mums with prams using it.

"It’s such an injustice, we were just really surprised. Other people have exactly the same type of fence as we’ve got, so why are we being punished?

"We are being unfairly penalised, it’s madness. And we are worried about being able to afford the work in this age of austerity."

The fence is made of close-boarded wood and stretches along both sides of their boundary facing the road, on a street corner. It is believed that the council issued the order to have it's height reduced after being contacted by a whistleblower, but aircraft engineer Andrew wants to know why no enforcement action had been taken against other householders with similar fences.

He said: "We replaced the hedge with the fence, unaware of the need for planning permission until we suddenly had a letter out of the blue from