A COUPLE have told how their neighbour's “hideous” 10ft privacy fence towered over their garden.
Alison and Ian Lawrence said the fence around Deborah Olthof's family home “ruined” their home and reminded them of a prisoner of war camp.
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Photos show the two-tiered fence overlooking the couple's picturesque garden.
The fence is also lined with small plastic spikes.
Ms Lawrence, 58, described the decision to build the fence as “soul destroying”.
She compared it to the Colditz Castle prisoner of war camp.
“It's a mix of Colditz and living on the motorway – we're completely crammed in,” Ms Lawrence said.
The business owner and her 71-year-old husband have now criticized the local council in New Milton, Hants, for showing “no concern for the disruption to our property” – and said they would escalate the matter “as much” as they can .
The dispute after a successful reconstruction application by the real estate manager Ms. Olthof.
Ms Olthof moved into her £640,000 four-bed home in April last year and built the spiked fence two months later.
While there was previously a fence in the rear garden, this was “greatly raised” by Ms Olthof as part of her work – and, according to her neighbour, is now “more than three metres”.
Ms Lawrence, mother of three adult children, said the fence had caused “major problems” since it was erected as it “overshadowed the garden”.
“It ruined our property,” she said.
“If we wanted to sell our property, I don’t know anyone who would buy it given this fence.”
The Lawrences recently spent £20,000 on landscaping their garden.
Ms Lawrence said the fence was “so high” that they couldn't “deal with” the guttering on the house – as they couldn't fit a ladder in the narrow gap between their roof and the high wooden fence.
“It actually matches the beginning of our roof,” she said.
In October, Ms Olthof applied for retrospective planning permission to retain the fence, which was granted by New Forest District Council in November.
Ms Lawrence said this happened despite New Milton Local Authority writing a letter of objection to the authority saying the fence was “unsightly, unneighborly and too dominant”.
Commenting on the decision, the homeowner, who also moved to the New Forest last year, said: “We don't think anyone has done their job properly.”
The business owner said the neighbor “got everything” and criticized the community for showing “no consideration for the damage to our property.”
“Our objections are not taken into account at all and they were in accordance with all guidelines,” she said.
“I can’t believe anyone would condone a fence of this magnitude – it’s abhorrent.”
“They just let it happen.”
She claimed the council had taken “the path of least resistance” so it wouldn’t have to burden its budget with enforcement.
What is Colditz Castle?
Colditz is a castle near Leipzig in Germany that overlooks the Zwickauer Mulde River – and was used primarily as a prisoner of war camp during World War II.
It was first mentioned in a document in 1046, but it was not expanded into a real castle until around 1084.
Colditz – built by the Saxon electors as a demonstration of power – was initially destroyed by the Hussites in 1429.
At the end of the following century it was rebuilt in the Renaissance style and experienced a second heyday under Christian I and his wife Sophie of Brandenburg.
In the 19th century it was a workhouse and then a state asylum for the mentally ill.
Between 1939 and 1945 the castle served as a prisoner of war camp for Allied officers during World War II.
Colditz is currently a youth hostel and tourist attraction.
Ms Lawrence said one council official even compared it to Colditz, a former royal residence in Germany that became a prisoner of war camp during World War II.
She said that although she feels like “we can't actually do anything,” she plans to push the matter “as far as possible.”
“There has to be a path of regression, a path of fairness,” she said.
“I was hoping we could reach a compromise with the fence. We didn’t want to have a neighbor to argue with, but that’s really unreasonable.”
The homeowners also complained about the fence installed in front of the property, which proved to be a “danger” for them when reversing onto the busy road.
Because of the structure at the front, it is difficult for them to see approaching traffic.
In her public objection, Ms Lawrence wrote: “We assumed that the fence was erected to provide greater privacy and also for safety reasons for the applicant, however, as the fence adjoins a patio area in her garden which increases the height between the “We have to tolerate the fact that the applicant looks into our garden and therefore does not give us any privacy.”
The homeowner said the application was “a breach of national planning guidelines”.
After feeling completely ignored by the local authority, they said they were now ready to report the matter to the government ombudsman.
New Forest District Council approved the fence, saying Ms Olthof's garden has terraces creating a “high boundary treatment”.
They said that while there was “some impact” on the Lawrences' estate, this “does not justify rejection”.
Ms Olthof was asked to comment.
She said she had planning permission for the fence and said the council was happy with all aspects, including the height.
And she noted that her home is on higher ground – which was taken into account by the council.
New Forest District Council said: “Careful consideration has been given to the design and impact of the fence on the area and neighbors.”
“Complaints will be dealt with by the Development Management Service Manager in accordance with our internal complaints procedure, details of which can be found on our website.
“There is no legal remedy against this planning decision.
“If the neighbor remains unhappy following our complaints process, the matter could be referred to the local government ombudsman.”
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