Fuming homeowner ordered to knock down wall by council – as it's 20cm too tall
A man has been forced to demolish half his garden wall by council planners – who have now told him it is still 20cm too high.
The garden manufacturer expressed his dismay over the situation, stating that his garden now looks "strange" and he feels saddened by the experience. He received a notice from Caerphilly County Borough Council in 2021 following a complaint about the height of his newly constructed stone wall.
The structure, which originally stood at six feet when built in 2020, was erected in place of an eight-foot-tall conifer that had become a nuisance. Mr Roberts's intention was to gain more privacy. However, any permanent structure such as a wall or fence exceeding a metre in height requires planning permission, delivered through a formal planning process. Unaware of this requirement, Mr Roberts believed he could do as he pleased on his private property.
Someone complained of the wall's height in Caerphilly, south Wales (Daily Post Wales)While councils typically overlook slightly oversized walls, they are obligated to investigate if a complaint is lodged regarding a wall's height. If the wall hasn't received permission to exceed a metre in height, a demolition order is likely to be issued.
The saga began when the council inspected a wall on Mr Roberts's property in October 2021. The authority then wrote to him, stating he would need to demolish it. Unwilling to accept this, Mr Roberts appealed the decision to the government department, Planning and Environmental Decisions Wales (PEDW). After conducting its own inspection, PEDW revised the council's demands. They informed Mark that total demolition wasn't necessary, but he would need to reduce the wall's height to a metre.
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"I won't lie, I decided to leave it alone until I had an enforcement notice," Mr Roberts confessed to WalesOnline. "When I was at the Royal Welsh Show in July, I received a letter from the Welsh Government warning me that if I didn't cut the wall down, they'd hire a company to do it at my expense."
True to his word, Mr Roberts returned home and reduced the wall's height to 1.2m, more than half a metre less than its original size. He pointed out, "There are many walls and fences in the area higher than a metre."
Mr Roberts says his wall now looks 'strange' (Daily Post Wales)However, the saga didn't end there. Council inspectors made another unannounced visit to Mr Roberts's home in Caerphilly, south Wales. to assess whether he'd complied with their instructions. Following this, they wrote to him again, demanding he reduce the wall by a further 20 centimetres or face prosecution.
In a statement to WalesOnline, a council spokeswoman revealed the ongoing saga involving Mr Roberts and his controversial wall. She stated: "Following an enforcement investigation, enforcement notice and refusal of planning permission, Mr Roberts appealed to Planning Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW). The appeal resulted in a requirement for the wall to be reduced to one metre. Mr Roberts previously expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the appeal and the decision taken by PEDW.
"However, an enforcement notice remains in place as Mr Roberts has failed to comply with its requirements to reduce the wall to the stipulated one metre. At this stage, Mr Roberts does not have a right of appeal. He has been advised to lower the wall to one metre as directed by PEDW or face prosecution by the authority."
Mr Roberts, who initially invested £5,000 in the wall, has now had to shell out additional funds to demolish another 20 centimetres of it. In a disgruntled tone, he said: "It looks terrible now doesn't it? It was nice and private before all of this. There are so many walls around here over a metre. I feel I've been singled out and treated unfairly. I tried to enhance the appearance of the house without causing harm to anyone. I'm not even permitted to put a fence on the wall. I can't erect a fence but I can grow a tall hedge. It's absurd." The council, following another anonymous inspection, has since written to Mark expressing satisfaction with the new height of his wall.
* This article was crafted with the help of an AI tool, which speeds up The Mirror's editorial research. An editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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