Our neighbour ruined our property after placing up an enormous spiked ‘privateness’ fence – it is like we’re prisoners in Colditz Castle
A couple claim their neighbour’s building of a three-metre spiked fence has made their own garden feel like a modern-day version of Colditz Castle.
Alison and Ian Lawrence, from New Milton in Hampshire, have described the privacy fence as ‘hideous’ and allege that it was constructed without permission by new neighbour Deborah Olthof.
Having recently splashed out £20,000 on landscape design, the couple say that the fence has ‘ruined’ their dream garden.
The local authority have also seemingly sided with Ms Olthof by allowing the real estate director to keep the fence due to a retrospective planning application.
Describing the decision as ‘soul destroying’, Alison and Ian Lawrence have accused the local council of showing ‘no regard to the detriment of our property’ and have claimed they will escalate the issue ‘as far’ as they can.
Ms Olthof moved into her £640,000 four bed home in April of last year and built the spiked fence some two months later.
There was previously a fence in the rear garden, but this was ‘grossly heightened’ by Ms Olthof as part of her works – and is now ‘in excess’ of three metres, according to her neighbour.
Mrs Lawrence, a mother of three adult children, said since it was constructed, the fence has caused ‘major problems’ including its overshadowing of her garden.
Alison Lawrence (pictured) standing in her garden in front of her neighbour’s new ‘privacy’ fence
Alison and Ian Lawrence say that the fence has caused them ‘major problems’, such as the overshadowing of their garden
The fence, which has been likened to the infamous Colditz Castle in eastern Germany, has a spiked finish to its top
Detailing the impact the wooden eyesore has had on the couple, Mrs Lawrence said: ‘If we wanted to sell our property, I don’t know of anybody that would want to buy it seeing a fence like that’.
The fence which surrounds the perimeter of the detached house is also lined with small plastic spikes which are often used as a form of ‘pest control’ to prevent animals such as cats from entering or leaving a property.
Mrs Lawrence claimed the fence is ‘so high’ that the couple are unable to ‘manage’ the guttering on their house as they are unable to get a ladder in the narrow gap between their roof and the high timber fence.
‘It’s actually in line with the beginning of our roof,’ she said.
Retrospective planning permission was granted by New Forest District Council in November for Ms Olthof’s ‘privacy’ fence despite the protestations of the Lawrences.
Mrs Lawrence said this occurred even after the local New Milton authority wrote a letter of objection to the council saying the fence is ‘unsightly, unneighbourly and over dominant’.
‘There’s no regard to our objections at all and they were within all the guidelines,’ she added.
‘I can’t believe that anybody would approve a fence of that magnitude – it’s hideous. They just allowed it to go through’.
Alleging that the local council opted for ‘the path of least resistance’, Mrs Lawrence said their decision was motivated by money as they didn’t want to have to use their budget on enforcement.
The Lawrences had recently spent £20,000 on landscape designing their garden
The Lawrences say that they are unable to manage their guttering now as the fence prevents the use of a ladder on the side of their house
The spiked finish to the fence is claimed to help with ‘pest control’ by preventing animals form entering or exiting the garden
On a visit to inspect the new fence, Mrs Lawrence claims that one council officer remarked on its likeness to Colditz Castle, the infamous World War II prisoner-of-war-camp.
‘It’s a mix of Colditz and like we’re living by the motorway – we’re completely penned out,’ she said.
She said despite feeling as if ‘there’s nothing that we can actually do’ – she plans on taking the matter ‘as far as I can’.
‘I hoped that we could reach a compromise with the fencing, we didn’t want to have a neighbour that we fall out with but it’s really unreasonable.’
The Lawrences have also lodged complaints over a fence installed at the front of the property which has proven to be a ‘hazard’ for them when reversing onto their busy road.
This is because the structure at the front makes it difficult for them to see approaching traffic.
In her public objection, Mrs Lawrence wrote: ‘We understood that the fence was erected to give more privacy and also for safety reasons for the applicant but since the fence adjoins an area of decking in her garden which has artificially raised the height between the two properties, we have to suffer the applicant looking down into our garden lending no privacy to us.’
The homeowner added that application is ‘in breach of national planning policies’.
The Lawrences have also lodged complaints over the fence built at the front of Ms Olthof’s proeprty
The couple have described the fence’s likeness to that of something one would find at the infamous World War II POW camp at Colditz Castle (pictured)
The Lawrences say that their next course of action will be to report the local council’s decision to the Government ombudsman.
Speaking to their approval of Ms Olthof’s fence, the New Forest District Council acknowledged that while its construction does have ‘some impact’ for the Lawrences, that these did not ‘warrant a refusal’.
Ms Olthof has also defended the fence, stating that the council were satisfied in all aspects, including by its height.
She also noted that her house is situated on a higher plot than the Lawrence’s and that this a factor taken into consideration by the council.
New Forest District Council said: ‘The design and impact of the fence on the area and neighbours were carefully assessed.
‘Complaints will be handled by the development management service manager as per our corporate complaints procedure, details of which are on our website.
‘There is no right of appeal against this planning decision.
‘If the neighbour remains dissatisfied after our complaint process, the matter could be referred to the Local Government Ombudsman’.
