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A Fordham man has been told to tear down a two metre tall fence despite claiming the council had approved “an identical adjacent fence”.

East Cambridgeshire District Council handed Alan Nash an enforcement notice after the metal fence was put up without planning permission at his Moor Road property. They said the fence exceeds the height limit of one metre next to a “highway used by vehicular traffic.”

Mr Nash, of A.L.N. Carpentry and Joinery Limited appealed the notice to the Planning Inspectorate but they backed up the council’s decision. Inspector R Bartlett said the fence, which is painted green, is “softened” by the mature hedges in front of it, but “remains visible through gaps”.

They added that the hedge cover can’t be relied upon to hide the fence in the long-term and will be “less effective during winter months” and the gates “fail to respect the edge of settlement rural character of the road and its surroundings”.

The inspector said Mr Nash “states that the council has approved an identical adjacent fence but has not provided any details or evidence of this.”

They said there are other high fences and gates nearby but they “are not of the same design and materials, and I am not aware of their planning status”.

They said: “I acknowledge the need for a defensible boundary around the dwelling; however, that is provided by the boundary hedging, which could be reinforced by further planting and/or the erection of a more sympathetic form of fencing.

“Likewise, lower-level agricultural style gates and pillars would secure the access to the site, and I understand that such gates have already been granted planning permission for the appeal site.”

The appeal was dismissed and the inspector ordered the fence, concrete fence posts, metal gates and gate piers to be removed.