Putting fences/walls up on open-fronted houses

[ChasesDragons]

Hi all, Is it allowed for me to put up fences or hedges around open-fronted houses, where the front lawn just runs up to the pavement? I am not sure of the legality of it in the UK.

Just for the record, these houses are part of an estate and making these changes will make mine stand out quite a bit.

Also, are there set heights to which a wall or a hedge can be set up? One of the houses that I am interested in, has a HUGE side lawn, which can bee seen into, from the road on two sides. There is already a hedge row lining both roads, but they are only about 4 feet tall. Can I grow this to 6 or more feet?

TIA

[sPoNiX]

It depends..there may be a restriction in the deeds.

Ours had such a restriction that we weren't allowed to put up a front fence for the first 20 years after the house was built. After that we could do what we wanted.

sponix

[Malcolm Stewart]

I'd advise that you check your house conveyance package. Matters like this are normally set out in some detail. Bit surprised that your purchasing solicitor didn't spell out any restrictions to you before purchase.

[John Cartmell]

There may well be a restriction in the deeds. Is your house freehold, leasehold or subject to a chief rent? In the latter two cases I'd guess the leaseholder requires open-fronted gardens.

Why do you want a hedge then? If it's to keep off kids and cars then you could make careful use of specimen bushes that deter psychologically even if they don't form an impenetrable barrier. There are some quite nastily spiked bushes available. ;-)

It's usually not a good idea as such a high hedge will cause light reduction in your garden. People's eyes are rarely 6 foot above the ground so a 5 foot hedge should be ample for most screening purposes.

[Chris Bacon]

Maybe there weren't any *to* spell out!

[TheScullster]

.............snip

Your local council may have some say in this! We have a corner plot to that the front and side are onto a pavement. When we moved in there were 12 foot cyprus firs all round the boundary overhanging the pavement by 6 foot! We have removed as many as possible without exposing the rear garden.

But, although these are still significantly taller than a 2m fence, we can get away with leaving them but possibly not ripping out and replacing with fencing.

Check both deeds and the requirement for planning if you want to do it legally. If you don't and someone objects, it could be an expensive lesson.

Phil

[nightjar]

That suggests that there is probably a restrictive covenant in place to prevent it. Otherwise, somebody else would have done it by now.

Fences and walls are limited to 1m where they adjoin a highway or 2m elsewhere. Hedges currently have no general limit, although the Local Authority does have the power to require a nuisance hedge to be cut back to

2.5m. However, they are also constrained not to requires trees to be cut back to less than 2/3 of their established height, as that might endanger the plants, which limits the value of that power with very tall established hedges.

Colin Bignell

[Dave Fawthrop]

| Hi all, | Is it allowed for me to put up fences or hedges around open-fronted | houses, where the front lawn just runs up to the pavement? I am not | sure of the legality of it in the UK. | | Just for the record, these houses are part of an estate and making | these changes will make mine stand out quite a bit. | | Also, are there set heights to which a wall or a hedge can be set up? | One of the houses that I am interested in, has a HUGE side lawn, which | can bee seen into, from the road on two sides. There is already a hedge | row lining both roads, but they are only about 4 feet tall. Can I grow | this to 6 or more feet?

Read the deeds. If the deeds say nothing, six ft will be fine. 10ft might cause problems.

[pilchardlover]

You'll need to check the original planning consent for the estate which will probably say that no fence above X height is allowed to be erected on this or that boundary line. Even if you there are no restrictions, there is still law preventing you from erecting a fence above a certain height, especially along the highway boundary (e.g. front of the property), and you will also have to consider the issue of any impact on your neighbour's light or view.

Perhaps the subtlest and least neighbour-antagonising solution is to plant some shrubs and allow them to create a wall over the next five or so years, rather than suddenly erect an eight foot fence that will be immediately noticed. The only drawback is that you'll lose some space as shrubs take up more room, and you'll need to keep them trimmed to a certain height or else risk offending a neighbour.

Brett

[ChasesDragons]

Ok guys, Thnx for sorting it out.

Just for the ppl wondering why it wasnt checked during conveyancing - it's cos I havent bought the hooch yet, I was asking Qs to help me decide in the type of house.

I am a VERY private "survival type", hate ppl looking into my yard let alone into my house etc.

As for the idea on thorny bushes and hedgerows - Japanese Prickly rose is something I am looking into...since I heard crocodiles and aligators don't like the British weather..

[Owain]

This is probably not the house for you ... it sounds the sort of place that has competitive car-washing every Sunday morning.

Owain

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Given the number of houses for sale in this depressed market, look for somewhere else? Open gardens like this seem to give a sense of community.

[airsmoothed]

Been in exactly the same situation myself; corner plot with 30 ft. high conifers, chainsawed that lot, then had to get planning permission to put up a 5 foot high fence :-((. Just to add insult to injury, 3 months later a Council guy knocks on the door, asking why we'd erected a fence without planning permission.

[Matt]

You should have used the chainsaw on him :-)

[dg]

But restrictive covenants or easments can only be enforced by the person benefiting from them, and if the builder is long gone and has no other interest then he can't really enforce it. A neighbour or anyone else is unlikely to have rights to enforce any such covenant or easement

There may be a planning restriction, but this could be challenged.

dg

[Nick H]

The fact that your talking about an "estate" and that that no-one els has put up a fence would make me think that the original plannin consent for the development would have set very definate conditions fo the final landscaping. Its not unusual for planners to insist on "open style frontages in order to maintain a more communal appearence. Yo will need to check with the local planning dept

-- Nick H

[meow2222]

Check out Elaeagnus angustifolia, monster sized spikes, and unusual fruits.

NT

[Tony Bryer]

" If it can be shown that the person who built the various houses in your street imposed similar covenants on the various purchasers who, with their respective successors in title, were intended mutually to enjoy the benefit of, and be bound by, the covenants, then you should be able to enforce them against your neighbour under what is known as a "building scheme"."