A FAMILY has been ordered to demolish their £6,000 garden decking – because it towers a whopping 16ft over the street below.
Homeowner Jamie Davies, 38, only wanted a bit of privacy for his kids “while they play” when he threw up the 44ft long decking that sits on a huge steel frame.
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But the dad failed to apply for planning permission for the “unacceptable” structure covering the sloping side of his modern detached garden.
Jamie has now lost an appeal for retrospective planning permission after council planners branded the deck “an unduly dominant feature.”
The ruling comes two years after he first applied for back-dated permission for the decking in Blaina, South Wales, and was refused.
Dad Jamie, manager of a sports centre, insisted the decking had been put up to give “privacy for the children while they play” at their home on Tanglewood Drive.
But planning officer Joanne White hit back at the dad saying his latest application is “not significantly different” to the one previously refused by the planning committee and inspector.
She added how Jamie’s neighbours are left at “a significantly lower level” than his house and the decking thanks to a steep plot of land the structure sits on.
And she stressed there are “other ways” to increase the usable space of the garden.
Ms White slammed the structure an “unacceptable development” as she said planning permission should be flat out refused.
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She added how the decking would be “an unduly dominant feature” that has an adverse visual “impact upon the street scene.”
Garden decking became popular from the late 1990s – with makeover show Ground Force getting the blame for the boom.
Retailer B&Q reported an increase in sales of the lawn alternative from £5,000 in 1997 to an eyewatering £16million in 2001.
Presenter Alan Titchmarsh apologised for the lawn cover-up – saying at the time: “I am sorry, I know it’s everywhere these days.”
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