The owners of a Hyndland flat have been told to take away an “out of character” fence and artificial grass which they installed outside their property without permission.
Enforcement officers ordered the removal of the unauthorised development — which includes paving slabs and lighting bollards — from the front of a Falkland Street home, which is in a conservation area.
One of the owners, Silvia Colaluca, appealed to the Scottish Government over the ruling, arguing the “low maintenance” garden had replaced an “unkempt” and “untidy” area.
But an independent reporter, appointed by Scottish Ministers to look into the issue, has dismissed the appeal after deciding the enforcement notice is not excessive.
Retrospective bids for permission were rejected by council planners and an enforcement notice was issued in September last year. The appeal stated the owners had recently purchased the property and this was “part of a redecoration of their new flat”.
An order to remove a fence in Hyndland has been upheld by the Scottish Government. Image from Glasgow City Council documents
“The garden was unkempt and had untidy hedges,” it claimed. “The proposal was to make the garden a more private area for them to sit in and make it a low maintenance garden for these two older residents soon to be in their retirement.”
It continued the owners “did not think their proposals would cause any offence or look out of place in their local environment” and are “genuinely proud of what they have done in their front garden”.
Responding to the appeal, a council official said the “removal of the fence, artificial grass, paving slabs and lighting bollards is not excessive to remedy any injury to amenity, rather a necessary action to bring the development into compliance”.
Guidance states boundary walls to front gardens should be “repaired/reinstated in original material”. If original railings have been removed, new ones may be “acceptable, provided that they are uniformly designed and reflect the character of the building”.
A broadleaf neatly clipped hedge, maintained at a similar height, is a “suitable alternative boundary treatment for the front garden area”.
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The official said the development had “introduced a significant amount of hard surfacing, modern lighting bollards and artificial materials which are significantly out of character with the property and Glasgow West Conservation Area”.
They added: “It is considered that the fence is not in keeping with established boundary treatments in the surrounding area due to its height, design and position.”
Sarah Foster, the reporter appointed by Scottish Ministers, visited the site and found the “development remains in place and is a breach of planning control”.
She reported: “Whilst the appellant has submitted evidence that seeks to justify the development and emphasise its potential merits from their perspective, such issues are beyond the scope of this appeal against an enforcement notice.
“The only effective means of remedying the breach is to remove those items specified in the notice. I do not, therefore, consider the removal of the fence, grass, artificial paving slabs and lighting bollards to be excessive to remedy the breach.”
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