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Search the Public Notice PortalFarmers who replaced a garden hedge with a six-foot-tall wooden fence without obtaining planning permission have been told to pull it down.
Wiltshire Council has issued an enforcement notice against Victor Hunt and his wife Sylvia, who own Noah's Ark Farm at Garsdon, near Malmesbury.
The couple, who are both in their eighties, have appealed against the enforcement action.
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Noah's Ark Farm is a modern detached bungalow set close to a row of historic rubble-walled cottages.
It is set in a working livestock farm with a herd of beef cattle in 50 acres.
When a tall hedge at the front of their property blew down in gales they replaced it with a wooden fence which sits behind the traditional drystone wall.
The couple say the fence is necessary to prevent animals escaping on to the road, and to screen agricultural machinery.
In a letter to the Planning Inspector challenging the enforcement notice their agent, Daniel Drayton of LPC Trull, says his clients: "erected the fence without realising that planning permission was required.
"One of the reasons (they) chose to erect a fence in lieu of landscaping, such as a hedge, was that this would obviously take time to establish and mature, plus would require upkeep which at their advanced stage in life would be difficult to maintain."
The agent argues that the effect of the fence is "softened" by the 3ft stone wall in front of it.
Wiltshire Council argues the fence "constitutes a visually obtrusive structure, which fails to positively integrate with the surrounding area and streetscape, and does not respect the open character of the area.”
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The council insists the fence should be removed altogether or lowered to one-metre in height - the same height as the drystone wall it sits behind.
The battle will be resolved by a Planning Inspector via written representations.
Anyone wishing to comment on the matter can do so at The Planning Inspectorate, c/o QUADIENT, 69 Buckingham Avenue, Slough, SL1 4PN, quoting reference number A7246. The deadline for submissions is August 19.
For the latest public notices and planning applications in your area, visit www.publicnoticeportal.uk
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