A couple in Monmouth, Wales, has been instructed to erect a barrier to obstruct their neighbors’ view following the construction of a lavish shed in their garden without proper planning consent. The shed, featuring a floor-to-ceiling glass door and a timber pergola over a vast 22ft deck, was built on the site of an old greenhouse in September 2023. It is furnished with a sofa and workstations.
After complaints from neighbors about the structure’s height, the local council intervened. Following a planning meeting, the couple was mandated to install a ‘privacy screen’ to shield the shed from the neighbors’ sight.
Applicant Llinos Ndlovu explained that the narrow room, measuring only 2.74 meters (8.9ft) deep, was intended for her and her husband to work from home. She assured that the shed, located about 30 meters (98ft) from their house on the elevated end of their sloping garden, was solely for office use and not for residential purposes.
The couple became aware of the planning permission requirement when contacted by the Monmouthshire County Council’s planning department after an investigation triggered by a local resident’s tip-off. In response, they submitted a retroactive planning application for the shed and decking, which received objections from six parties while two neighbors supported the application.
Local councilor Steve Garratt requested a detailed examination of the application’s impact on the surroundings. Objecting neighbors criticized the shed as being too tall and imposing, expressing concerns about privacy invasion and potential future commercial use.
In a report recommending approval with conditions, planning officer Helen Etherington highlighted that the shed’s appearance is exaggerated due to the sloping garden when viewed from the house and neighbor’s garden because of the low boundary wall. She mandated the erection of a two-meter high willow “privacy screen” along the boundary with the neighboring property as a planning requirement.
Addressing worries about potential business activities, Etherington clarified that the permission granted only allows for uses related to the residential dwelling.