Family ordered to take down 2m garden fence

A request for retrospective planning permission for the fence was denied

A family has been ordered to take down a 2m wooden fence which surrounds their front garden.

It was put up without permission at their home on St Lawrence Road, Chepstow, between February and April.

Mum Sophie Daly made a retrospective application to keep the fence in August, which is 1.98m tall at its highest point.

Ms Daly claimed it increased safety and security for her child and pet dog.

It provided better protection from noise and pollution from the busy A48, she said, than the hedge it replaced.

Chepstow councillor Paul Pavia backed Ms Daly, along with a neighbour who dubbed the fence "modern but respectable".

A hedge surrounded the property before it was chopped down and replaced

Monmouthshire council planners disagreed.

The "prominent entrance" to the town, they said, meant the gate and fence would "cause unacceptable harm" to the look and character of the area.

They recommended councillors refuse the application, which they did.

Councillor Rachel Buckler called it "detrimental" and said she preferred the hedge it replaced, while Emma Bryn feared it giving it the green light would "set a precedent".

Mr Pavia, who also sits on Monmouthshire council, said there had been no objection from the highways department or Welsh government.

"It is not a rural lane but a noisy, polluted urban corridor," he said.