A HOMEOWNER who was ordered to tear down his garden wall because it was 80cm too tall claims the council’s are the same height.
Mark Roberts built the 6ft-high stone wall outside the front of his property at Aneurin Bevan Avenue in Gelligaer, Wales, in 2020.
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But the garden manufacturer and professional Father Christmas received notice from Caerphilly County Borough Council in 2021 that someone had complained about the height of his wall.
Mark said he created it in place of an 8ft-tall conifer which had become an unruly nuisance while he also wanted more privacy.
But if a permanent structure such as a wall or a fence is more than a metre in height it requires planning permission to be constructed.
That must be delivered through a formal planning process.
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Mark said he was unaware he needed that permission when he built the wall and had thought he could do what he liked on his own private property.
The planning battle went to government department Planning and Environmental Decisions Wales (PEDW) and lasted more than two years.
Mark settled on reducing the height of his wall by 80cm rather than demolishing the whole thing.
But weeks after Mark had taken his wall apart he claimed he noticed a contractor for the local authority had built a wall “more than a metre in height” on council-owned land in the area.
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Mark said he then realised that the council was in the process of rebuilding many walls and fences in the area and he alleges many are more than a metre in height.
Mark said learning of council-owned walls in the area that are too high angered him so much that he wrote to the council’s planning department.
He claims that in response the council has submitted retrospective planning applications for all of the walls, fences, and similar structures they own which have been pointed out by him.
The council’s own application for the abundance of wall was submitted on October 23.
The application relates to walls which have been built at Aneurin Bevan Avenue, Dan-y-Graig Road, Gaer Place, Greenhill Place, Haman Place, Heol Cattwg, Heol Edward Lewis, Heol Y Waun and St Cattwgs Avenue.
Mark said: “As I have reported a breach of planning they have now applied for planning permission which would be retrospective as most of the walls are completed.
“It looks like there is one rule for the council and another for me.
“If these walls get approved it’s unbelievable and should be taken to court.”
Mark, who originally spent £5,000 on the wall, had said about his own wall: “It was nice and private before all of this. There are so many walls around here over a metre.
“I feel I’ve been targeted with it all really and I’ve been unfairly treated.
“I tried to make the house look nice and I wasn’t hurting anyone. I’m not even allowed to put a fence on the wall.
“I can’t put a fence on it but I can grow a tall hedge. It’s ridiculous.”
A spokesman for Caerphilly council said: “The local planning authority is currently investigating a planning enforcement complaint relating to the erection of boundary walls at Gelligaer and in parallel is also in the process of considering an application for retention and completion of walls in the same area.”
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What are your rights?
When it comes to a neighbour’s extension or building works, there are a few common causes of discord.
Overstepping property boundaries is a common problem, and it’s important to check where the boundary lies to see whose land the works are taking place on.
You can buy these for as little as £3 from Land Registry.
Meanwhile, the Party Wall Act 1996 is a piece of legislation designed to prevent and resolve disputes between neighbours over building or digging work that affects a party wall.
Tom Edwards, partner in property disputes at LCF Law, said works within six metres of an adjoining home could fall within the act, which means neighbours must be given written notice.
He said: “Owners can also acquire rights to light over time. If you’ve had the benefit of natural light to your property for 20 years or more, even if it’s not in your deeds, it can become your legal right.”
