David and Denise Hopwood replaced an eight-foot hedge along their Plodder Lane frontage with a six-foot composite fence topped with a one-foot trellis, citing the hedge's difficult and expensive maintenance due to their age and disabilities. The couple said the hedge cost £800 per year to maintain and that the fence transformed their lives, with multiple reports indicating they at times resorted to pegging blankets on the washing line to stop passers-by looking into their home. According to Daily Mail - Home, David Hopwood described the fence as being erected for privacy, security, and maintenance purposes.
A neighbor complained about the fence's height last year, forcing the couple to seek retrospective planning permission for the grey composite structure erected in March 2025. The planning application process required them to justify retaining the fence after it was already built.
We put it up for privacy and security, while it is ideal for maintenance purposes.
Bolton Council refused permission after a site visit last month, telling the couple to pull down the fence and citing its location, materials, color, and size as reasons. The council described the fence as a 'discordant and strident feature in the street scene' that did not align with the 'character and appearance of the surrounding area.' The couple's home is on the corner of Plodder Lane and Duchy Avenue, opposite open fields and countryside, contributing to what multiple reports describe as a 'semi-rural character.' Homes along the road are typically characterized by relatively open frontages with low walls, timber fencing or railings, and often have hedges, according to multiple reports. The fence is 2.1 meters high, black, and very prominent on the street, fully enclosing the front of the house and appearing at odds with the open frontages, low walls, and hedgerows of dwellings opposite. Multiple reports indicate the black composite panels starkly contrast with the red brick house and adjoining lower wall.
Following a site visit on February 6, 2026, a planning inspector dismissed the couple's appeal due to the effect of the fence on the character and appearance of the surrounding area. The inspector acknowledged the couple's personal circumstances, including age, disability, and vulnerabilities, and accepted that the fence provides additional security and privacy. However, the ruling stated there was insufficient evidence to show the height and materials of the fence were necessary for privacy and security, or that a less harmful alternative could not be provided, according to the planning inspector.
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.
The neighbor's home is also surrounded by a dark-colored fence, according to major media reports. According to Daily Mail - Home, David Hopwood described the street as already having a 'right mix' of different fences, including a jet black one across the road and several brick ones, adding that he felt 'picked on.' He also questioned why the color was an issue, saying 'the colour is our choice, I don't understand why it is an issue.' According to Vestmanlands Läns Tidning, David and Denise Hopwood described their ongoing appeal as 'not justifiable.'
The street already has a 'right mix' of different fences on the street, saying 'there is a jet black one across the road, a number of brick ones, I feel like we have been picked on'.
The colour is our choice, I don't understand why it is an issue.
The couple is appealing: 'Not justifiable'