Our neighbour’s spiked 10ft privacy fence towers over our garden… it’s like living off a motorway or prison camp
A COUPLE have told how their neighbour's "hideous" spiked 10ft privacy fence towers over their garden.
Alison and Ian Lawrence said the fence around Deborah Olthof's detached house has "ruined" their home, reminding them of a prisoner of war camp.
Photographs reveal how the two-tiered set of fencing towers over the couple's picturesque garden.
The fence is also lined with small plastic spikes.
Ms Lawrence, 58, branded decision to build the fence "soul destroying".
She compared it to prisoner of war camp Colditz Castle.
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"It's a mix of Colditz and like we're living by the motorway - we're completely penned out," Ms Lawrence said.
The business owner and her husband, 71, have now slammed the local council in New Milton, Hants, for showing "no regard to the detriment of our property" - said they will escalate the matter "as far" as they can.
The row following a successful retrospective planning application by real estate managing director Ms Olthof.
Ms Olthof moved into her £640,000 four-bed home in April of last year and built the spiked fence two months later.
While there was previously a fence in the rear garden, this has been "grossly heightened" by Ms Olthof as part of her works - and is now "in excess" of three metres, according to her neighbour.
Mrs Lawrence, a mum-of-three adult children, said since it was constructed, the fence has caused "major problems" as it "overshadows the garden".
"It's ruined our property," she said.
"If we wanted to sell our property, I don't know of anybody that would want to buy it seeing that fence like that."
The Lawrences recently spent £20,000 on landscaping their garden.
Mrs Lawrence said the fence is "so high" that they can't "manage" the guttering on the house - as they are unable to get a ladder in the narrow gap between their roof and the high timber fence.
"It's actually in line with the beginning of our roof," she said.
In October, Ms Olthof sought retrospective planning permission to keep the fence which was granted by New Forest District Council in November.
Mrs Lawrence said this was despite the local New Milton authority writing a letter of objection to the authority saying the fence is "unsightly, unneighbourly and over dominant".
What is Colditz Castle?
Colditz is a castle near Leipzig in Germany, which overlooks the river Zwickauer Mulde - and was most famously used as a POW camp in WW2.
It was first mentioned in a historical document in 1046, but wasn't built into a proper castle until around 1084.
Colditz - constructed by the electors of Saxony as a demonstration of power - was initially destroyed by The Hussites in 1429.
It was rebuilt at the end of the following century in the Renaissance style and experienced a second heydey under Christian I and his wife Sophie of Brandenburg.
By the 19th century it had become a workhouse and then a state institute for the mentally ill.
Between 1939 and 1945 the castle was used as a prisoner of war camp for allied officers during World War II.
Colditz is currently a youth hostel and tourist attraction.
Of the decision, the homeowner - who also moved to the New Forest last year - said: "We don't think that anybody did their jobs properly."
The business owner said the neighbour "got everything"; and slammed the council for paying "no regard to the detriment of our property".
"There's no regard to our objections at all and they were within all the guidelines," she said.
"I can't believe that anybody would approve a fence of that magnitude - it's hideous.
"They just allowed it to go through."
She claimed the council took "the path of least resistance" so they wouldn't have to dip into their budget by carrying out enforcement.
Mrs Lawrence said a council officer even likened it to Colditz, a former royal residence in Germany that became a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II.
She said despite feeling as if "there's nothing that we can actually do" - she plans on taking the matter "as far as I can".
"There's got to be some course of regress, some course of fairness," she said.
"I hoped that we could reach a compromise with the fencing, we didn't want to have a neighbour that we fall out with but it's really unreasonable."
The homeowners also complained about the fence installed at front of the property - which has proven to be a "hazard" for them when reversing onto their busy road.
This is because the structure at the front makes it difficult for them to see approaching traffic.
In her public objection, Mrs Lawrence wrote: "We understood that the fence was erected to give more privacy and also for safety reasons for the applicant but since the fence adjoins an area of decking in her garden which has artificially raised the height between the two properties, we have to suffer the applicant looking down into our garden lending no privacy to us."
The homeowner said the application is "in breach of national planning policies".
After feeling completely ignored by the local authority, they said they are now set to report the matter to the Government ombudsman.
What are your rights over a fence row?
IT'S very important to know your rights if you are embroiled in a fence row with a neighbour.
How do I know which side I own?
A boundary feature can be a fence, wall, hedge, ditch, piece of wire, or sometimes even just the edge of a driveway.
The only way to know for certain who owns what side and to avoid any neighbour disputes, is to refer to the title plan or Land Registry.
In this, the T mark is used to indicate who the boundary belongs to and therefore who is responsible for its upkeep, say pros at .
Larger developments tend to have some indication provided by the builder, but there are no hard and fast rules
People often think they are responsible for the left (or right) hand boundary wherever they live, but there isn’t any legal basis for this.
You can check with HM Land Registry to see which boundary feature you are responsible for.
Often households can't get hold of the paperwork but experts say they shouldn't panic.
Homeowners can guess who owns the fence by checking where the rails are.
Pros say: "The fence is typically facing away from their property so that their neighbour gets the ‘good’ side.
“This is the most secure way of facing fencing so there are no rails for anyone to use to climb into your garden.
“This is then repeated with the neighbour on the other side to ensure that each home has both a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fence side.”
Walls and fences are often built on the land of the boundary's owner with the edge of the wall marking the limit.
While professionals agree a glimpse at the fence can give you a hint, it's not foolproof - so you can't be certain.
Fines and punishment
It is recommended to always check legal documents before making changes to avoid hefty fines.
There is no law that the neighbour has to get the good side of the fence, so it's completely up to whoever owns the fence.
Fencing pros have suggested: “It may be worth selecting a double-sided panel with no ‘bad’ side as both sides look the same and rails are concealed within the fence panel.”
If one boundary backs onto a road or footpath you can install the panels with the rails on the inside
But if it's installed on the outside, it can provide an “easy ladder for burglars to enter your garden”.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Property Litigation Association have created a mediation service to help neighbours resolve disputes over their property boundaries without resorting to court action.
RICS also provides a list of surveyors who could assist in boundary disputes.
If a dispute continues, it is ultimately a court that makes decisions, but they do not like such disputes being put before them.
Changing a boundary
If you want to change an existing boundary, such as replacing an old fence with a new one, we always recommend discussing with your neighbour first and making sure it is all agreed.
The registered titles can help you to reach an agreement, but only if this information has been added.
In terms of decorations on a fence legal advisers recommended asking around over who actually first installed it.
But they also urged caution before getting to work on amending the fence without getting more certainty yourself - since there is a danger of actually being prosecuted for criminal damage.
How high can a garden fence be?
The height of the fence is measured from your ground level, this can have an impact when, due to slopes in the ground, your garden may be at a higher level than your neighbours'.
A garden fence can be as high as 100m but you need to get planning permission if it's over than 2m.
However, there are some complications to this.
If you are thinking about front garden fences, restrictions state that fences alongside a driveway can be a maximum of 1m or 3ft.
You would need to get planning permission for putting a trellis on a fence of 2m.
But, if any plant that you grow on that trellis exceeds 2m, you do not need to obtain a permit for the growing plant.
The New Forest District Council approved the fence and said that Ms Olthof's garden has decking which creates a "high boundary treatment".
They said that while it does have "some impact" on the Lawrences property, these to not "warrant a refusal".
Ms Olthof was approached for comment.
She said she does have planning permission for the fence and said the council were satisfied with all aspects of it, including the height.
And, she noted that her house is on a higher plot - which was taken into consideration by the council.
New Forest District Council said: "The design and impact of the fence on the area and neighbours were carefully assessed.
"Complaints will be handled by the development management service manager as per our corporate complaints procedure, details of which are on our website.
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"There is no right of appeal against this planning decision.
"If the neighbour remains dissatisfied after our complaint process, the matter could be referred to the Local Government Ombudsman."