Man wins battle against council to keep fence

West Norfolk Council refused a retrospective application for the fence in Terrington St Clement

A homeowner has won a battle to keep a fence around his property despite a council branding it "unacceptable".

Jake Exton, who lives in Lynn Road, Terrington St Clement, King's Lynn, was forced to submit a retrospective application for the wooden boundary - even though he was not responsible for putting it up.

He argued the previous owner had erected it in 2019 and he was unaware they had not received permission to do so, only finding out when he applied for an extension to the property.

West Norfolk Council decided to refuse the application and argued it was "detrimental to the street scene" and "unduly prominent" but Mr Exton won his appeal.

An ecologist said the previous hedgerow (pictured) would have supported wildlife

The authority's senior ecologist complained that a well-established hedgerow, which would have supported an array of wildlife, was cut down to make way for the fence and feared it could have affected the biodiversity of the plot.

But Mr Exton took the matter to the secretary of state and appealed against the decision.

He argued he had not had any complaints raised about the fence.

He said it was "well maintained" to prevent it from being an eyesore on the street.

He also said it was vital to keep the fence height to ensure family pets were kept safe and to prevent them escaping onto the road.

"It feels like we are now being punished for the incompetence of the previous owners when we have done our best to follow planning rules," he added.

Despite the threat of being forced to take it down, Mr Exton won his appeal against the council.

The planning inspector ruled that it was a similar size boundary to other nearby homes and that the residential area is characterised by homes of mixed design, therefore it did not look out of place.