A HOLT man has been forced to take down a wooden fence he had recently erected or face enforcement action by Wiltshire Council.

Peter Scheuber had appealed against Wiltshire Council’s refusal to grant planning permission for the timber feather fence at 89 The Street in Holt.

The appeal site is directly opposite a number of Grade 2 listed heritage buildings, including Rose Cottage, Beak House and Holt United Reform Church.

The planning inspector, Rory Cridland, visited the site on August 16 and found the fence had already been erected on top of a low stone wall. He dismissed Mr Scheuber’s appeal after the council had refused his retrospective planning application.

Mr Cridland said the 2.5-high fence was out of keeping with neighbouring historic properties and eroded the character of the conservation area – even though some of his neighbours have similar fences.

“In this case, even though the fencing provides additional privacy to the occupants of number 89, as well as some additional acoustic protection, there is nothing before me which would indicate that there would be any public benefits which would outweigh the resultant harm.”