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Couple fined over 'eyesore' garden fence

A couple have been fined after building an 'eyesore' fence in their back garden without planning permission.

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Mr and Mrs Milakovic, of Reservoir Road in Hednesford, refused to take the fence down despite repeated calls by planning chiefs who said it was 'of non-standard construction'.

The fence had been made from wooden panels fixed to the trunks of trees that had previously formed a hedge.

The couple were found guilty of offences under Section 215 and 216 of the Town and County Planning Act 1990 at Cannock Magistrates Court last week.

Mr and Mrs Milakovic were ordered to pay costs to the council in the sum of £285 each. They were each fined £60 and ordered to each pay a £20 surcharge.

A notice was served by the council in October 2015, asking the couple to remove the unsightly fence from the boundary of their property.

Complaints were received from neighbouring residents and people driving up Littleworth Hill regarding the appearance of the fence and the council considered the fence was harmful to the street scene and detrimental to the amenity of neighbouring residents.

The couple were required to remove the fence by December 7 but had failed to do so.

Councillor Gordon Alcott, portfolio leader for economic development and planning said: "The Council had served them with a notice requiring the fence to be removed but they had failed to comply and remove the fence.

"Mr Milakovic considered that he had the legal right to erect a two metre fence without having to obtain planning permission, and that the Council did not have the power to ask him to remove the fence.

"However, following numerous complaints the council exerted their rights under the Town and Country Planning Act to require the development to be removed when its condition adversely affects the amenity of the area. "

The magistrates found that Mr and Mrs Milakovic were guilty, since they had not removed the fence.

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