How high can a fence be without planning permission?

Two metres in most places, one metre in the spot most people want a fence, and none of it applies in some areas.

The general limit

Under permitted development you can normally put up, replace or alter a fence, wall or gate up to two metres high without applying for planning permission. That covers most rear garden boundaries.

The exception that catches people

Where the boundary adjoins a highway used by vehicles, or a footpath alongside one, the limit drops to one metre. That is the front garden, which is exactly where people most often want screening for privacy. A two-metre fence along a front boundary generally needs planning permission.

One practical route is to set the fence back. Moving the line two metres in from the highway boundary can bring you back under the two-metre allowance.

Where permitted development does not apply at all

If the property is listed, sits in a conservation area, or is covered by an Article 4 direction, those rights are restricted or removed and you may need permission whatever the height. New-build estates also frequently carry planning conditions or covenants restricting front boundary treatments, which are separate from planning law and enforced by the developer or management company.

Height is measured from the ground

Measurement is taken from natural ground level, and where ground levels differ on either side it is the higher side that counts. Adding trellis on top of a two-metre fence counts towards the height. Fences forming part of a boundary with a listed building are treated differently again.