Advice on unplanned fence extension

[Poppybloom55]

Hi Al

I am just looking for some advice please.

My partner and I bought a fixer upper 2 years back and we have been renovating it ever since. We are nearly finished inside and starting to think about outside.
The property is about 25 years old and the deeds state that the fencing around our property which adjoins to other properties are party fences, with shared ownership.

We have a fence along the bottom shared with our neighbour. He has erected new fencing above it, attaching it to his side to extend the height. He didn’t ask us if this was ok (not sure if he needed to?) but it’s a bit of an eye sore on our side and I’m not sure where I stand with it. Am I even allowed to paint it given it’s not the original party fence?

Heres a photo to better explain. Excuse the mess! The worn out looking reddish fence is the existing party fence along the boundary. The more neutral newer looking wood is what he’s attached up top to extend the height.

To avoid any arguments we are likely to add our own feather fencing along the back as part of our garden renovation but I don’t particularly want it this high! It’s also only this section, the garden continues along the back for a further 5ish meters and this extended fence bit is only on this small section!

Before initiating any conversations, I just wondered a few things..
Is he allowed to do this?
If not, what’s the best next step?
If so, what could I do to make it less ugly when we renovate?

I think you have to consult local planning rules. But you are not normally allowed to put in a fence over 2m in height, which is why nearly all fences are 6ft panels.

A popular solution if you want higher is to attach a trellis and then grow something on it. I am not sure what is considered reasonable in this regard.

I am not sure what your neighbour is trying to achieve, but be aware that putting something like that constitutes not a small amount of effort. So they must be doing it for a reason which seems valid to them, even if it may seem totally nuts to the rest of the world. Sometimes people do things like that because they want privacy but that can be for a whole host of reasons.

It's probably worth noting that if you do attach random stuff like that to fences, it will probably cause issues somewhere down the line. The extra size and weight of the panel may well end up wearing the posts quicker.

Anyway, if the neighbour does want extra privacy for some reason there are probably better solutions than this. But these can probably only be arrived at by talking to them and discussing it. If the fence is shared at some point you are going to have to talk to them about maintenance, as if your property is 25 years old and the fence posts haven't been replaced they may well be nearing their end of life.

Suggestions to cover it - antique looking mirror door with creepers/trellis. You can get some evergreen climbers also, so in winter it'll be a green we have a pretty one called Akebia Quinata that smells like chicolate., also you could have a mural painted like at this house: https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/pandora-sykes-london-house
Or paint on a giant dart board.

From the photo it looks like they’ve extended the height further along too but with something else. I’m wondering if they have a dog that likes escaping? (My dads German shepherd can escape normal fencing!)

My easy fix solution would be just to fix a trellis up that part of the garden and grow a pretty climber. If irritates you too much for that maybe knock and have a chat to find out why?