NEIGHBOURS have been left divided over the tearing down of a 7ft wooden privacy fence between their homes and a popular commuter railway station.
Those living in leafy Strawberry Hill, Twickenham are up in arms over the removal of the fence, which protected gardens from onlookers for just nine months.
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Though some are thrilled the “blot on the landscape” is gone, others say they’re now scared to let their children play outside for fear of ill-intentioned passers-by.
The one thing everyone living on Orford Gardens appears to agree on is that it was wrong to so heavily prune back shrubbery which acted as a natural block.
They built that fence on both sides of the platform nine months ago. It was a long corridor of fence. Next thing you know they’ve taken it down. It is a little in your face but before it was built the lack of privacy definitely bothered our neighbours
Alan Smith
In a bizarre twist, a section of the wooden fence has been left at the far end of the platform – while the rest was replaced by a metal mesh alternative.
One frustrated resident whose house is no longer backed by the wooden fence, mum-of-two Christine Southern, 63, said she feels like she is living in a “goldfish bowl”.
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Christine, who’s lived in her house for 24 years, told The Sun: “The fence was fabulous for privacy. It’s also the cost of putting it up and then taking it down again.
“People stand on the platform, turn round and look straight into our conservatory and the bedrooms.
“One time before the wooden fence was built my daughter had to lean out and ask them to turn round. My husband was working in the garden and said to someone up there ‘would you mind turning round?’
“For 20 years there was vegetation and everyone was happy. Privacy is one thing, then there’s security and of course the noise. There was no noise when the vegetation was there.
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“The last train comes through at 1am and first one goes out at 5.30am. This whole situation is really weird. We’ve had our sheds broken into, expensive road bikes taken, people climb over. They can see in.
“We were thrilled when they put the big wooden fence up. Now the lack of privacy has affected us really badly, we can’t use our garden.”
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Mum-of-two Stephanie Bailey, 45, described the situation as “really annoying”.
She added: “The wooden fence was really great because it looked nice, it was about 7ft tall so you could just see the top of the train from our house. I’ve seen they’ve still got it up further down. Why’s it not here?
“When the fence was up it sort of protected people from being aware that our access lane was there. Now we’re afraid people will think it’s a good place to fly tip.
“I have two young boys and I don’t like the thought of anyone standing there and being able to watch them playing in the garden.
“The most upsetting thing is the waste. I don’t like the waste. After saving up for our fence we know how expensive they are. It just seems really petty.”
Her neighbour Brian Luckhurst, blasted the situation as “absolutely crazy”.
He added: “We liked it as it was and feel disappointed it’s now been removed. The noise is the biggest issue for us.
“When the new fence was up we could just see the top of the train and couldn’t hear anything.”
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The wooden fence was first erected nine months ago, but was pulled down last week after a disagreement between Network Rail – responsible for the fence – and South West Rail – which wasn’t consulted and needed to sign off on the materials.
Another fuming local, who didn’t want to be named, told how rowdy rail passengers regularly crowd onto the platform after rugby games in nearby Twickenham.
When they first arrived on the street the platform wasn’t long enough to back onto their home, but after an extension of the platform in 2017 it does. And they’re not happy about it.
The section of remaining wooden fence now completely shields their garden from gawpers.
They added: “Our privacy had been affected by the extension of the railway platform. Our young teenage daughters didn’t feel comfortable using their own garden. It wasn’t fair.
“Now we’re thrilled the fence is there. It’s so much better.”
Alan Smith, 71, revealed his first thought seeing the wooden fence for the first time after it was built last summer was “Christ!”
He added: “They built that fence on both sides of the platform nine months ago. It was a long corridor of fence. Next thing you know they’ve taken it down.
They keep putting it up and taking it down. We prefer it down but it’s up to the railway. I know it does bother some people. I think it’s a blot on the landscape. I’d be quite happy if they took the rest of it down
Pip Rowett
“It is a little in your face. Before it was built the lack of privacy definitely bothered our neighbours. They’d built another screen virtually at the same height.
“There was a lot of money gone into that fence. They’d built it well. It went up very quickly. When we went away it wasn’t there and when we came back we thought ‘Christ’.”
“They now have the fence here but not further down the platform. I don’t know why. It’s odd that it’s now up this side.
“Putting it up and pulling it down again was such a waste of money. There was never any graffiti so that couldn’t have been the reason. There was a massive mistake made and heads must roll.
“That must have cost thousands. I had to replace my fence recently so I know how much it costs.”
Other neighbours, who now live behind the mesh fence, say they’re thrilled the wooden version was removed.
Dr Frank Palmer, 78, told how he was “very angry about the whole thing from the beginning”.
He said: “I was annoyed when it went up. It’s an unnecessary expense but also it ruined our view because we had nice shrubbery and bushes instead.”
SECURITY RISK
Frank claimed the thick wooden fence stopped passengers alerting owners to potential burglars.
He said: “I was concerned because robberies had been prevented here by people seeing the gardens from the platform and notifying the authorities, so it was less safe. Then we had a murder here on the platform.”
He claimed the security fence meant there weren’t as many witnesses as there would have been without it.
Dino Donaldson, 19, from Ealing, has been charged with the murder of Anojan Gnaneswaran, 21, after he was stabbed to death on the platform at Strawberry Hill station on Monday, January 8.
Frank added that as a rail passenger waiting on the platform while the wooden fence was up felt “claustrophic” and acted as an bizarre optical illusion, pushing him towards the edge.
“I couldn’t go very far down because I felt I was being pushed onto the railway line,” he said.
“I had to walk down the length of the carriage to get to the end I wanted. I was glad to see it go. The huge cost and the noise both times was quite ridiculous. Of course taxpayers will pick up the tab. Fares have just risen. The whole thing was totally ridiculous.”
He said his semi-housebound daughter actually enjoys being able to watch commuters on the platform. But ultimately the natural shrubbery was the best option.
“Before all this happened we had natural shrubbery that was nice to look at. The view was much better. They cut down all that well before the fence went up but it was so much better.”
Pip Rowett, 85, who can see the remaining section of wooden fence from his garden, slammed it as a “blot on the landscape”.
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He said: “They keep putting it up and taking it down. We prefer it down but it’s up to the railway. I know it does bother some people. I think it’s a blot on the landscape. I’d be quite happy if they took the rest of it down.”
The Sun has contacted Network Rail and South Western Railways for comment.
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