Do I need planning permission for a fence in Teddington?

Most fences in Teddington don’t need planning permission, but some do, and the line is worth understanding before you start. Get it wrong and the council can require the fence be reduced or removed.

This applies to Teddington, Twickenham, Hampton, St Margarets, Kingston and Richmond equally. The rules are national, not local.

The default rule

You can build a fence without planning permission if it meets all of these:

• Maximum 2 metres tall on a rear or side boundary
• Maximum 1 metre tall on any boundary that fronts a road or public footway
• The fence isn’t part of a listed building’s curtilage
• The property isn’t in a conservation area where stricter rules apply

That covers about 90 percent of fences I fit.

When it’s the 1 metre limit, not 2

The 1 metre rule applies wherever your boundary is along a “highway used by vehicles” or a public footway leading to one. So:

• A front garden fence facing the road: 1 metre
• A side return fence that faces a road on the gable end: 1 metre
• A corner plot where two sides face roads: 1 metre on both road-facing boundaries

A side return fence that runs between two houses (no road in front) is a 2 metre fence.

If you’re not sure which boundary fronts a road, look at your title plan or check the council’s planning portal map. The boundary line, not the house position, is what matters.

Conservation areas

Several streets in Teddington are in the Teddington Conservation Area, plus there are conservation areas in Twickenham (Riverside, Twickenham Green, Heath Road), Hampton (Hampton Wick, parts of Hampton Hill), and Strawberry Hill. Conservation area rules are stricter and the safe assumption is that anything more than a like-for-like replacement might need consent.

If your road is in a conservation area, I’ll flag this on the first visit. The council planning portal lets you check by postcode.

Listed buildings

If your house is listed, the curtilage (the boundary around the property) is also covered. You’ll need listed building consent for any non-trivial fence work. This affects a small number of houses in this area but it’s worth checking.

Trellis on top of a fence

Trellis above the fence counts towards the height. A 1.8 metre fence with a 30cm trellis is treated as a 2.1 metre fence and would technically need permission unless the trellis is open enough to be considered separate (rare). In practice most councils don’t pursue this, but you’d be on shaky ground if a neighbour complained.

The reliable approach: if you want the privacy of a 2.1 metre boundary, build a 2 metre fence and grow climbers up it. Climbers don’t count towards the height.

Fences along a public footpath

If a public right of way crosses your property, you can’t put up a fence that obstructs it. Most rights of way in this area are clearly marked but if you have any doubt, the council can confirm.

Whose fence is it anyway?

Worth saying because it comes up often: the side the posts are on does not indicate ownership. The deeds for your house tell you which boundaries are yours. If you and your neighbour both think the fence isn’t theirs, no one will replace it. Worth a friendly conversation before any work starts, or a look at the deeds.

What I’ll do

When I quote a fence, I’ll always:

• Note whether the boundary fronts a road (which limits height to 1m)
• Check whether the road is in a conservation area
• Flag if your property looks listed
• Stick to the 2m / 1m limits unless you’ve separately got permission

I’ll never deliberately fit something that needs permission without flagging it.

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