Man livid after he’s given a CRIMINAL RECORD over his 7ft backyard fence… however neighbours say ‘it appears to be like like a jail’
A homeowner has been slapped with a fine and a criminal conviction for putting up an illegal garden fence that neighbours compared to a ‘prison’ wall.
Farhan Khan replaced a ‘verdant green hedge’ with the 7ft wooden boundary around his garden in a tree-lined road in Southampton in 2020.
Mr Khan later applied for retrospective permission but was it was refused after planning chiefs said the fence introduced an ‘incongruous and harmful feature’ to the street, where the average house costs £257,214.
Now, more than a year later, Mr Khan has been handed a £622 fine and given a criminal conviction after pleading guilty to failing to comply with a Planning Enforcement Notice.
Neighbours have been divided over the decision, but one man told MailOnline: ‘It must be like a prison, it had a dwarf wall and then a lovely hedge, but [the fence] is enormous and horrible looking.’
The fence replaced a ‘verdant green hedge’ which was part of the tree-lined character of the road in Southampton
Farhan Khan first erected the fence, which stands at over 2m tall, in 2020 without applying for planning permission first
Property developer Ihsan Mabood, who lives opposite, thinks removing the fence is ‘nonsense’
If he continues to ignore the enforcement notice the council could take down the fence themselves.
A 57-year-old neighbour who did not want to be named said the fence was ‘unsightly’ and needed to come down, but she was ‘shocked’ that Mr Khan now had a criminal record.
The business owner said: ‘The fence needs to come down.
‘I can understand why he needed to enclose the garden, the fence is very unsightly, it should be green otherwise you are losing the avenue being green.
‘It has set a precedent, we have ended up with the guy on the other side putting his up.
‘That is a shame about the criminal record, I am shocked.
‘They are perfectly amenable people, I don’t think they get it, this road has been chipped away at, it is the entrance to our city, it is part of our showcase and it needs to be kept.
‘We go to great lengths to look after the trees.’
When Mr Khan was told he needed approval because it was more than a metre tall, he applied for it retrospectively to the city council, but it wasn’t granted
The refusal notice, issued in January 2023, stated that Mr Khan’s application wasn’t granted because it introduced an ‘incongruous and harmful feature’ to the street
Mr Khan was ordered by the council to take the fence down in May 2023 but he refused and tried to appeal the planning application, but at this point it was too late for an appeal
Local councillor Sam Chapman, 38, has supported neighbours and the Ridgemount Area Residents Association over the enforcement notice.
He said: ‘I have been pursuing this through the city council, the local residents association want the enforcement action to happen which has taken a long time.
‘If there is an enforcement action it needs to be carried through, probably quicker than it has been.
‘I am pleased that the council has enforced planning law and followed this through.’
Property developer Ihsan Mabood, who lives opposite, thinks removing the fence is ‘nonsense’.
The 64 year old said: ‘I think it is nonsense to remove the fences, it is for privacy, more privacy is better than nothing, I am totally against it.
‘We have had an issue with people throwing old tyres or rubbish from the building sites.’
Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, was critical of Mr Khan for trying to ‘bend the rules’.
Mr Khan was handed a £622 fine and given a criminal conviction at Southampton Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to failing to comply with a Planning Enforcement Notice
If Mr Khan continues to ignore the enforcement notice, the council could take down the fence themselves
The engineer said: ‘I can’t believe it has taken so long to go to court.
‘They think they can get away with breaking the law, trying to bend the rules all the time.
‘There used to be verdant green hedges, the character of the greenery has been lost.
‘Having spoken to a lot of the neighbours they have been talking about how horrible it is, we have been taking it up with our local councillor, it has been going on for a long long time.’
Retired Hilary Connett, 74, said the fences made no difference to her and they were ‘tidier’ because they kept rubbish in the garden.
The neighbour said: ‘It makes no difference to me, it is nice when people keep all their rubbish inside a fence.
‘It doesn’t bother me, I think it is good, it just makes it look tidier.’
Retired Hilary Connett, 74, said the fences made no difference to her and they were ‘tidier’ because they kept rubbish in the garden
Councillor Sarah Bogle, cabinet member for economic development, said the planning enforcement team took the ‘appropriate action’
Councillor Sarah Bogle, cabinet member for economic development, said the planning enforcement team took the ‘appropriate action’.
She said: ‘The planning system exists to balance an owners’ rights with those of their neighbours, communities, and others.
‘A key concern for local people in Bassett is the protection of the character of the area which is enshrined in the Bassett Neighbourhood Plan.
‘In this case, our planning enforcement team took the appropriate action by bringing this prosecution to maintain the unique character of the Bassett area and support local peoples’ priorities as laid out in the neighbourhood plan.’
