Retired couple forced to tear down £4,500 seven-foot tall privacy fence after neighbours complained it was more intrusive than the nine-foot high hedge it replaced
Publish Date: 2026-03-15 06:17:00
Source Domain: www.dailymail.co.uk
A retired couple have been forced to tear down a £4,500 seven-foot tall fence they built for privacy after neighbours complained it was intrusive on the neighbourhood’s ‘character’.
David and Denise Hopwood put up the 25-metre long grey fence around their home to replace a nine-foot high hedge which had become difficult and expensive to maintain due to their age and disabilities.
However a neighbour complained about the fence’s height last year, forcing the couple to seek retrospective planning permission.
The couple, from Farnworth in Bolton, Greater Manchester, were refused permission by Bolton Council, which claimed the fence did not align with the ‘character and appearance of the surrounding area’.
The retirees challenged the decision saying the hedge had cost them £800 per year to maintain and the fence, complete with a one-foot tall trellis and gravel boards, had ‘transformed’ their lives.
However the council has remained steadfast on their decision and told the couple, following a site visit last month, to pull down the fence.
It cited several reasons, including its location, materials, colour and size, saying it ‘appears a discordant and strident feature in the street scene’.
Mr Hopwood, 67, said he and his wife, 66, both suffer from arthritis and the hedge has become ‘out of control’, leaving them unable to look after it and prompting them to install the fence.
David and Denise Hopwood have been forced to tear down a £4,500 seven-foot tall fence they built for privacy after neighbours complained that it was intrusive on the neighbourhood’s ‘character’
Mr Hopwood said it would be ‘terrible’ if they had to pull down the fence, adding the ‘whole ordeal has been very stressful’
He said: ‘We put it up for privacy and security, while it is ideal for maintenance purposes.
‘I feel we have been hard done by the claims saying it doesn’t fit with the street scene, there isn’t one size that fits all here.’
Mr Hopwood added the street already has a ‘right mix’ of…
