Can I build a fence or wall without planning permission?
Usually yes up to 2 metres — but only 1 metre if it borders a road used by vehicles. Under permitted development rights, you can put up a fence, wall or gate up to 2 metres high without planning permission where it's not next to a highway. If it adjoins a highway used by vehicles (or the footpath beside it), the limit drops to 1 metre. Height is measured from the natural ground level at the base. You can maintain or repair an existing taller fence as long as you don't increase its height. These rights are removed for listed buildings and their curtilage, and where an Article 4 direction or a planning condition applies — so always check locally. Note that hedges aren't covered by these planning limits, and structural retaining walls can engage building regulations. In short: yes to 2m, or 1m by a road, subject to local restrictions.
📋 The rules
- Up to 2 metres high where not next to a highway
- Only 1 metre next to a road used by vehicles
- Height measured from natural ground level
- You can repair a taller fence, not raise it
- Rights removed for listed buildings / Article 4 areas
🔓 Exceptions
- Conservation areas: building is usually fine, removal may need consent
- Hedges aren't covered by these planning rules
- Structural/retaining walls can need building regulations
⚠️ Penalties & fines
There's no automatic fine for building over the limit, but it's a planning breach: the council can issue an enforcement notice requiring you to lower or remove the fence or wall, and ignoring an enforcement notice is a criminal offence that can bring an unlimited fine on conviction. In England the council generally has a 10-year window to enforce against most breaches. The 1-metre / 2-metre limits and the ground-level measuring point are the key tests. Beware two myths: "my side can be 2m, so I can build 2m anywhere" is false if it fronts a road or vehicle footpath, where the limit is 1m; and which side the rails face doesn't decide ownership — your title deeds do. Before building near a boundary: check the deeds, talk to your neighbour, and confirm any Article 4 or conservation-area restrictions with the council.
📎 Official sources
- Planning Portal — fences, gates and garden walls →
- GPDO 2015 — Schedule 2, Part 2, Class A →
- GOV.UK — when is permission required →
❓ Frequently asked
How high can I build a fence without planning permission?
In most locations you can build a fence, wall or gate up to two metres high without planning permission. But if it's next to a highway used by vehicles, or the footpath alongside it, the limit drops to one metre. Height is measured from the natural ground level at the base of the fence.
Why is the limit lower next to a road?
The one-metre limit next to a vehicle highway is about safety and visibility — a tall fence at a junction or beside the carriageway can block sight lines for drivers and pedestrians. So planning rules treat boundaries fronting a road more strictly than those between neighbouring gardens, where two metres is allowed.
Do these rules apply to hedges?
No. The two-metre and one-metre planning limits apply to fences, walls and gates, not to hedges, which grow naturally. A problem hedge is dealt with separately under the high hedges rules in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, where a council can act on evergreen hedges over two metres that block light or access.
Can I build over the limit if my neighbour agrees?
Your neighbour's agreement doesn't remove the need for planning permission. If you build above the permitted height without consent, it's a planning breach regardless of what your neighbour thinks, and the council can require you to reduce or remove it. You'd need to apply for planning permission to build higher lawfully.
What happens if I build a fence that's too high?
There's no instant fine, but the council can serve an enforcement notice ordering you to lower or take down the fence. Ignoring that notice is a criminal offence and can lead to an unlimited fine. The council usually has ten years to act on this kind of breach, so an over-height fence can be challenged long after it's built.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
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- “garden wall planning permission”
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