Bassett man fined for building a garden fence too high

Farhan Khan, a property owner at Ridgemount Avenue, built the timber fence on top of the existing brick wall.

But because it was more than 1m tall and next to a road it needed planning permission - which he had not applied for, breaching planning rules.

Mr Khan had one month to remove the fence in June 2023 before prosecution proceedings started. (Image: Google Maps)

When made aware of this, Mr Khan applied for retrospective permission.

But this was refused in January 2023 because it went against the Bassett Neighbourhood Plan.

In May 2023, the council ordered Mr Khan to take down the fence by the end of June.

It was only then that he tried to appeal the retrospective permission being refused - but he was too late by this stage.

As the fence was still up, prosecution proceedings began.

On November 13, Mr Khan pleaded guilty to failure to comply with the requirements of a Planning Enforcement Notice after the time for compliance has expired at Southampton Magistrates' Court.

He was fined a total of £622, giving him a criminal record.

Councillor Sarah Bogle, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said the planning system exists to balance an owner’s rights with those of their community.

Cllr Bogle said: “In this case, our Planning Enforcement team took the appropriate action by bringing this prosecution to maintain the unique character of the Bassett area and support local peoples’ priorities as laid out in the Neighbourhood Plan.”