A homeowner in Worcester has successfully appealed against the city council's demand to take down a boundary fence, after a planning inspector found a critical flaw in the enforcement action.
Council Enforcement Action Overturned
Worcester City Council had issued an enforcement notice concerning a 1.5-metre tall garden fence situated on the corner of Columbia Drive and Quebec Close in the Lower Wick area. Council officers insisted the fence breached planning rules and demanded its removal by August 2024.
The local authority presented the resident with several options to remedy the situation. These included removing the fence entirely, moving it to a position at least two metres from the highway, or reducing its height to one metre. An alternative involved repositioning the fence 1.7 metres from the road and planting a hedgerow between it and the pavement.
Flaw in Council's Argument Exposed
Planning inspector M Savage, who presided over the appeal, identified a fundamental problem with the council's stipulated solutions. The inspector noted that to comply with the requirements to move or alter the fence, the appellant would first have to take it down.
"This would itself remedy the breach," the inspector stated in the decision report. "The appellant would then have to erect the fence in a different part of the site, which itself is development. Whether or not such development would be permitted is debatable."
The Crucial Four-Year Rule
The success of the appeal hinged on proving the fence had been in place for more than four years before the enforcement notice was first issued on 1 August 2024. This is a key provision in planning law, where enforcement action cannot be taken against certain types of development after this period.
The appellant, linked to the property at 100 Columbia Drive, provided evidence to the inspector to establish the fence's age. This included a statement from the partner of the appellant and testimony from the installation company, Webb Maintenance Ltd.
The company stated the fence was erected between 20 and 22 July 2020. Crucially, a photograph dated 30 July 2020 showing the completed fence was submitted as evidence.
After reviewing this evidence, Inspector Savage concluded: "I consider it is more likely than not, that the fence was substantially completed by August 1, 2020 and so the appeal succeeds." The inspector quashed the enforcement notice on the balance of probabilities.
This case follows the city council's rejection of retrospective plans for the same fence and a house extension at the address in July 2024. The inspector's ruling demonstrates the significant legal weight carried by the four-year rule in planning enforcement disputes, often providing a definitive defence for homeowners when sufficient evidence is available.
