Fencing garden and screening hedge gaps

[Propertyshmoperty]

Hi everyone

I'll be moving into a house with a corner garden soon, however the garden wraps around all the way from front to back.

I have 2 questions, firstly I'd like to fence the side garden from the front/drive to give my yound DC as much "back" garden space as possible. Where would you put a fence? I'm wondering if a 1.2m picket fence next to the drive would be enough. Would that be safe and secure enough too?

Second question is theres a great 5m wide gap in the 3m high hedge, part of the hedge has obviously died and had to be removed and replanted, but the shrubs aren't established enough yet and I need something to put in front of the gap to make it DC/DDog proof and the garden private as it's a public pavement/road on the other side of the hedge. I'm looking at hazel hurdles but would that look daft? Probably need 3x 1.8m panels.

The curved part of the plot is next to a public pavement and residential road. The 2 straight fenced sides are next to neighbouring properties.

What are peoples thoughts? Diagram attached 😆

Thanks in advance.

We're moving this thread to our Property topic at the OP's request.

@Propertyshmoperty

We have a painted picket fence. Sturdy and we like it. It's not as slabby as a paneled fence and lets light in. Ours is a dark bluey charcoal colour and plants look amazing against.

9ft high hedge??? Oh dear. Who is trimming that every year. It's a high hedge by definition and will block out light from your garden. You can easily put up a temp fence but it 5m has died, when is the rest of it going to? Sounds fairly horrible to me. We have 6ft high beech hedges. Much better.

Hazel hurdles could work but it's a bit bitty! Not attractive from the road. Not much kerb appeal. I'd take the hedge down and replant. 9ft against a road will be problematic.

What sort of hedge is it - ie. Is it something you can get trimmed to 6 foot? It is going to look bitty until the new bit of hedge is established but unless you take out the new planting and replace with larger ones there isn’t a way around that . Plus larger plants can be harder to establish.

i would put something alongside the drive, we did similar in previous house with wrap around garden and it did make a big difference to feeling of usable space. We had a large drive and went to normal fencing and a gate. I think with a smaller one I might have for for a wooden arch with climbers up it, a gate in the middle amd 6 foot lattice trellis either side, again planted with climbers.

I'd fence this area, keeping DC to the back.

I don't think a 1.2m picket fence would be safe or secure.
People could easily climb over it (and younger kids too).
It would be easy to see if kids were in the garden.
I wouldn't be happy leaving younger children unsupervised in that situation.

I'd put in a hedge from the front corner of the house to the front parallel to the drive to make the drive and directly in front of the house the 'front' garden. Then the side can be used for football etc and keep the bit behind the house for eating outside etc.

Depends on light etc.

Keep the hedge high. You could put in a temporary fence with wood posts and mesh stuff until it grows in. Not great for privacy, but would be OK for security. Check whether a fence over 1m needs planning if bordering onto a road (does for front gardens. Not sure how the rules for side gardens work).
You could put in a temporary fence (your wilow idea) in a bit more into your garden to get around planning.

@Seaitoverthere heres a pic of it in google street view, with no gap. Looks a bit like leylandii? Not sure exactly what it is. 😅I know it's going to look a bitty for a while but I'm on a bit of a budget. 🫣

I've just come on here to say I really like your diagram!

Did a car crash into it to cause the gap? Something to consider in the safety of kids thoughts.

No I walked past it the year before it was removed it was brown and dead they must have removed the dead ones and replanted. Also it's not a through road the only way a car would crash through that hedge and cause that damage would be if a neighbour floored it off their drive with a monster truck. 😅

Haha thankyou! 😅

This is what I was thinking although, like the gap in the hedge, it will take a few years for another hedge to establish so fencing would make it secure and usable as a childrens play area immediately. I think any ideas need to involve fencing.

It's a fairly quiet road but you're probably right, although I don't leave my DC unsupervised in the garden. I think I could probably put a higher fence further back from the front.

So this was my initial thoughts of the fence. The blue represents where the living room window is.

Purple line could be picket fence and retains most of the wrap around garden. Pink could be higher 1.8m fence, perhaps safer for young children? However I wonder if that will look rubbish from the living room window and block light, maybe the panels could be trellis or lattice? Red is a fence someone further up thread suggested and could be solid but I would like to retain more of the side garden as the back as I don't want a big front garden as for me it'd be a waste of space.

Still can't decide whats best for plugging the gap in the hedge that retains privacy, safety and doesn't look rubbish. 😅

The drive fence has to be reduced height for visibility for coming off the drive and for cars on the road to see your car otherwise it is like a closed junction. I believe it is 1m. My sister has a 6ft fence between her and her neighbour's drive but the last panel is 3ft to be able to see especially the pavement for any pedestrians approaching.

Fencing off with the straight purple line seems sensible but I al not sure from an aesthetic point of view how it would look from the front.

Re the new planting, it is shame the previous people didn't know you can buy a "ready hedge" so root ball plants (or potted or in a line of 3 plants) that are 6ft or taller. I have just had 7ft cherry laurels delivered as well as some 6ft conifers to fill some gaps in a very mature hedge.

"The drive fence has to be reduced height for visibility for coming off the drive and for cars on the road to see your car otherwise it is like a closed junction. I believe it is 1m."

@HandRaisedSparrow theres already an established 9ft hedge right next to the drive on the side I would be fencing? Any fence I put there would be shorter than the hedge and wouldn't block the view of the drive as its already blocked from that side. 😬

"Any fence I put there would be shorter than the hedge and wouldn't block the view of the drive as its already blocked from that side."

The trouble is though that, as long as the hedge isn't blocking people from walking along the path, then it can be as high as you like. (Although any adjoining neighbours may be able to complain if the hedge is over 2m high) but that doesn't apply to fences.

Hedges are not a development, like building a wall etc and so do not come under the scope of planning permission or permitted development etc.

Fences are another matter entirely and you must stay within the rules or you will have to apply for planning permission. Basically, any fence within 1m or 2m of the highway or path can be no taller than 1m. There is no definition of the exact required distance and different councils have different policies.

The practical upshot of this is that you can have a hedge as high as you like (as in your photo) right up to the edge of the property bordering the path, but if you put a fence in exactly the same place then it can be no more than 1m tall without planning permission.

I recall a story about someone who had a similar hedge to yours bordering a pavement and she had it cut down and replaced with a 1.8m fence. The local council came round and told her to remove the fence panels and that they could only be 1m tall.

[EDIT]

ps also love your diagram!

I thought that was grass on the diagram not a hedge, just be careful about the height of your hedges all round because you would fall foul of the high hedge act.

And Another2 is right about hedges not coming under planning, have a look here https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/fences-gates-and-garden-walls/planning-permission

Also correct about some councils being absolute arseholes about the "adjacent" to a pavement rules and have forced people to remove 6ft fences when they are next to the pavement. There was one recently where they wanted it higher than 1m to be able to let their DD play out in the back garden, she has autism and they need to stop her from running out of the garden, hence the 6ft fence.

"Hedges are not a development, like building a wall etc and so do not come under the scope of planning permission or permitted development etc." This.

I too am on a corner plot and I have a 6ft wall that was built when the estate was built (like your wrap around hedge) but to get round the stupid 1m rule I actually have a small strip of planted "garden" on the outside of that wall so the wall isn't classed as adjacent to the highway, the "garden" is and so it is fine. Another house has the corner garden but theirs open at the front, same as if you put up the fence along the red line but had no high hedge beyond that to the front. They are not allowed to fence it.

@Propertyshmoperty Your garden is very similar to a house near me. The green line is where they have put in a very nice dwarf wall with a fence on top, possibly 6ft in total height as it's taller than me but not by much. You can't see the front room window from the road any more and they have a gate next to the house to go into the fenced off garden. The have a young family so I can see why they would do this and it's given them so much private outdoor space.

@Another2Cats

A fence can be 2m without pp. We have a shorter picket fence and a beech hedge. Keeps leaves all winter and isn't a thug. Isn't too deep so garden space is decent and you can plant under it.

If a hedge overhangs a path it's a nuisance to disabled people.

There might be vision rules at road junctions about fences - in general though for most of us it's 2m.

A fence adjacent to a highway can only be 1m high otherwise PP is required.
Unfortunately there is no definition as to what adjacent means, and Councils do have different interpretations.
The rule is there to ensure that visibility is not impacted when drives, road junctions etc are used.
Generally if running parallel to the road, along the side boundary of a corner property a planning application for a fence above 1m in height wouldn't be an issue, as long as it didn't interfere with nearby driveways.
Whilst there is legislation relating to High Hedges, it only applies to evergreen, or mostly evergreen hedges, and only comes into force if neighbours can't agree about the height of such a hedge if it is over 2m. The Council has to step in and rule on the appropriate height. This could be over 2m. There is nothing generally to prevent a hedge being over 2m in height if nobody objects.

"A fence can be 2m without pp"

I'm sorry, but it can't if it is adjacent to the highway.

"We have a shorter picket fence and a beech hedge"

This is quite common, a 1m fence, wall or railing along with a taller hedge.

I doubt 1m high is enforced adjacent to highways in many areas. Well not here in villages anyway! We have vast numbers of fences falling foul of that height. On newer estates and in urban areas I can see why it's different.