Neighbours ugly fence

[FenceDispute]

We have new neighbours, They have a field that runs alongside the back of our property and about 10 other houses, For many years the field was used for silage by the previous owner and most people have low 3ft fences to make the most of the countryside views.
The new people however have decided to turn it into an equine property, and keep horses on the field which no-one objects to. What we do object to though is the fencing they have used. Instead of traditional post and rail that is fitting for the environment they have used commercial grade green metal fencing similar to that used at inner city schools, prisons etc. It is not over 2 metres so technically planning permission isn't needed. They have put this fence at the bottom, as close as possible to the bottom of peoples gardens, to the extent when there is no hedge they've gone in a couple of foot to grab that bit of land as well!!
We all have incredibly shallow gardens so myself and various others now look out our back windows onto this monstrosity, not in keeping with a rural village and frankly makes it feel like we are in a prison.

They have enclosed 7 acres, I cant anticipate them simply changing it because we ask them nicely - Other than close our gardens off at great expense erecting our own fences what the hell can we do??

[fluvly]

Hello @FenceDispute , sorry to bump an old thread but I am in the same situation as you were in 2018, and I wonder what came of it. We're actually in the process of selling the house, and the farmer just put up an ugly tall fence for equestrian use, just half a metre distance from our short picket fence. I am quite desperate really, as the best thing about this house was the view.

[FenceDispute]

Hurting heart - the issue ISNT a fence, its the type of fence.
I popped round to see them this weekend to find out they've gone on holiday. Brilliant timing, put up ugly fencing, leave and hope its all calmed down when you get back!

I've had the weekend to calm down and relax, I realise it isn't the loss of view, it really is what the new view is.
The fence is ugly and it is out of place.

[hurtingheart]

OP - you wrote this....

" . It's like the somme out there so the horses were leaning into gardens and nibbling hedges. "

So erm, that's why they've put up fencing they can't lean over.

Or am I missing something???

[FenceDispute]

Bubbles buying the house wasn't an option, I can assure you the offer to buy the land was far more than he was selling it for with the house. It had 2 prices one with land, one without.
Not sour grapes, the issue is the fence NOT that we couldn't buy it. I'm simply saying buying wasn't an option.
Yes we can grow our hedge taller, but it will take years to get it to 2 metres. We have a mixed native hedge mostly Hawthorne and of no risk to the horses.
You're very quick to say bamboo isn't right in the countryside and I agree, but neither is this fencing! If the enforcement officer deems there is nothing they can do in regard to the fencing then I will have to accept that and I will put a fence up tall enough to disguise it. There will however be no neighbourly relations, which is a shame because on a whole this is a fantastic village

[Jaxhog]

Is your hedge a privet hedge or something else that is poisonous to Horses? If so, you might want to warn them that horses may still be able to eat/lick through their fence as it is so close. Suggest that they might want to move their fence back a metre to ensure this can't happen in the future.

[Jaxhog]

If it's on their land, then they can put up an ugly fence. So can you!

Check with the land registry to see if they have encroached on your land. If they have, then you can sue them for trespass.

[BubblesBuddy]

I really think you could plant a fairly high beech or mixed hedge (4ft) to begin with and the fence will be lost from view in a couple of years. Bamboo is not suitable in the countryside.

You really cannot complain about how people choose to sell their property. If they include land with it, that’s up to them. It sounds like massive sour grapes and you should have bought the whole lot of you wanted to take control of it. You didn’t. You also expect the new owners to have purchased a different property which were presumably more expensive. I have no doubt that if you had offered the owner of the land an offer they couldn’t refuse, they would have snapped your hand off. I guess you didn’t. A decent paddock attached to a house is a valuable asset so I don’t blame the owner at all if they maximised the selling price. What would you have done in the same circumstances? Be a charity?

I tend to agree that post and rail is more attractive and it’s what I have. However, it has higher maintenance costs and isn’t as secure for the horses.

Just put in a suitable hedge such as beech, hawthorn and hornbeam and get over it. It’s way better than solid fencing. You will still see birds and lovely hedges are a haven for wildlife.

[loveka]

In a similar situation I planted bamboo 'winter joy' (non invasive, clump forming) and a willow fedge. Cost 200 and is very effective.

[FenceDispute]

If security is a concern why buy land that backs onto multiple properties? This isn't a city location, in the village there are 2 established equine properties for sale complete with stables and fenced sectioned land for rotation, there was 3 until a month ago, all of which have no neighbouring properties as the fields are surrounded by farms

[picklemepopcorn]

It may be about the security of the horses. There have been some hideous attacks on horses recently.

[FenceDispute]

Just to explain more, we have a low chain link fence and a hedge ourside in front of that, grown through so the chain link can't be seen. It's been there long before we moved in. Currently the new fencing is twice the size of our hedge and it will take many years for it to grow tall enough. The only way to hide the uglyness is to put a tall fence up and then grow something up the fence. As many have said we'd have to be careful what we grow directly up their wire as the horses can reach it.
Finally in terms of asking planning if what they've done is legal, we DID ask them first, they assured us it wouldn't be near people's gardens, they can be as annoyed as they like someone has reported them, had they been open and honest from the start we could have considered options LIKE fencing our side before there's went up, as I said the only way we can fence now is by pulling out an established hedge, which isn't great.
As for buying the land believe me we tried! We offered to buy it all, everyone offered to buy their bit and we offered to pay more than the seller was asking. The house it sold with is so run down the owner insisted on selling as a bolt on with the house to make it more attractive, only if the house sold without the land would he then sell to the residents. I want to be really clear, this isn't about us not getting the land, it's the fencing choice. If it was standard equine fencing there would be no complaints

[Sensus]

"I think they will argue that because their new fencing is not solid, then the loss of view objections will not be valid."

Loss of view objections are not valid in any case - they are not considered 'material' under Planning legislation - but visual impact is, and it would be difficult for them to argue that the level of visual and landscape impact engendered by that type of fencing is reasonably necessary.

[ObscuredbyFog]

I think they will argue that because their new fencing is not solid, then the loss of view objections will not be valid.

Also, how high are the residents' hedges?

Why do you want to rip your hedge out, can you not just let it grow to the same height as the new fence?

[Sensus]

Bubblesbuddy said: "PP would be required for stables but the few people that have them, have had no difficulty getting that because it is seen as a reasonable if they have land."

This does vary according to location. Where I used to live in the Cotswolds, for example, the Planners have a BIG downer on equestrian use, as horse ownership is so prevalent among the area's yummy mummies that it is taking serious amounts of land out of agricultural production.

But to repeat: regardless of the designation of land use, Agricultural PD rights are predicated on reasonable necessity for agricultural use.

Yes, it's a long shot, but it's the best argument you have, in Planning terms: as others have said, you don't need that type of fencing to secure land for horses, or any other type of livestock.

[PenelopeFlintstone]

I was expecting a solid green fence - like Colorbond.

[Thehogfather]

Op can't plant hawthorn outside her garden fence on the neighbours land. Could plant it inside their boundary though.

[butterfly56]

If you have no joy with the Planners OP ad are left with the ugly fence problem.
I would think about planting hawthorne between your garden and the fence all the way along, a cheap option for you and all the neighbours, and it will grow up and through the green fence and it will be hidden from view in a couple of years.
A bunch of neighbours did something similar to hide an ugly green plastic wire fence and now it can't be seen at all even in winter.

[Thehogfather]

It's like bubbles said locally to me, and anywhere else I've lived too.

Re the colour, not come across anything related to fencing, but I know a few people who have specifically been told by planning some things have to be painted dark green to fit in with the landscape, so it's unlikely that the council would agree the colour alone was not in keeping.

With regards to the height, I don't know any horse owner who prefers people to have access to their horses from overlooking gardens. You sound sensible but it only takes one entitled idiot to decide feeding the dear gee gees over the fence is a perk of the location.

Post and rail isn't exactly cheap, and unless they wanted to take on the backbreaking task of doing the whole lot by hand, the weather hasn't been suitable to do it otherwise. There's every chance they might be planning post & rail down the line, but reporting them, bitching about them not leaving you all extra garden where the hedge was/is and acting like your wants should dictate their use of land isn't going to help you.

You and the neighbours could all offer to put up post and rail if you're that bothered, or one of you could have bought the land yourselves.

[BubblesBuddy]

I have horses on my fields, as do a number of people around here. No planning permission required or sought by anyone. They graze and they are livestock. No-one is keeping them for a living. A few people have "temporary" field shelters. PP would be required for stables but the few people that have them, have had no difficulty getting that because it is seen as a reasonable if they have land. Ditto a horse walker locally as well. As I said before, we are green belt and AONB so highly controlled re planning.

As we are very controlled by planning policies in my village in terms of house extensions, garden offices, stables, and definitely no new houses, but no-one controls fences (unless they are over 2m) and no-one controls the use of fields by livestock: I think you may have some difficulty getting this fence removed. I cannot see that it is a "change of use" that a council would bother about. It is use of land that is suitable in the countryside and horses are considered livestock and agricultural in that they are not buildings! My land is classed as amenity land but now has horses on it. Other farmers' fields are agricultural and have a few horses on them. No planning permission sought by anyone.

[FenceDispute]

Olga post and rail is what i'd expect, it's the standard fencing with stock proof hedging like Hawthorne. The field with cows in has a combination of post and rail and the odd bit with wrought iron rails. None of which is above 4ft, certainly not 2 metres. The mesh is very tight so no chance of rabbits or badgers getting through. Mice maybe but that's really about all.

[Olga81]

A fence like that is actually better for wildlife than a wooden fence as small mammals can get through it. It's a great surface to grow something up against

[Kismett]

SandunesAndRainclouds don't give up entirely, it just takes the right person! We ended up with a house on an estate with a small garden, no fields anywhere to be seen. We might have bought "House #1" had we known exactly what was going to happen. The uncertainty is what killed it. The owner wasn't really honest about how close the road was going to be, and we felt he was pricing the house based on his experience, not what it would be like for the next owner.

If he had been more knowledgeable and realistic, I think we may have chosen it. Living on a construction site isn't great, but I used to live in a major US city and was used to constant construction noises (amongst other city noise).

Your house will lose value and that's unfortunate, but it sounds like you've enjoyed it and the right people will enjoy it next.

[Sensus]

"The issue is, legally, the land owners are entitled to fence their boundaries. "

Not entirely true.

As I said above, if it's agricultural land, they are 'legally entitled' (have Permitted Development rights) to erect a fence if it is reasonably necessary for the purposes of agriculture.

I agree that it's not good to get off on the wrong foot, but that cuts both ways - and from the OP they are the newcomers, and they have acted very inconsiderately to a number of existing residents.

[MsMims]

The council won’t tell them who has complained but which individual makes the call doesn’t make a difference - the land owners will no doubt take umbrage that they’ve been reported rather than approached and be even more reluctant to change that line of fencing. Whether it’s you or someone else reporting won’t change how it makes them feel.

It’s not really ‘accepting’ the loss of a view, it’s more accepting you had no legal right to the view in the first place. I have views over farmland and would be devastated to lose them so completely understand how you feel. The issue is, legally, the land owners are entitled to fence their boundaries.

You can’t know they’ve lied to you, plans could have changed, the contractor may have suggested it as the best solution after your conversation with them. I’d always give new neighbours the benefit of the doubt in the hopes of good relations long term. It’s hard to undo getting off on the wrong foot.

[SandunesAndRainclouds]

I think the whole development will be completed by 2021. I have the plans which show that the garden is not directly overlooked. I just can’t see that anyone else would want to put up with the huge disruption at the end of the garden.

They’re about to fell all of the beautiful trees. It is utterly heartbreaking watching a piece of tranquility turned into concrete.