22 January, 2020

Towering fence frustrates neighbour

A Takapuna resident is dismayed his neighbour’s high fence still towers over his property, blocking his view, a year after he complained to the council.

After Richard Goodenough’s December 2018 complaint about the fence raised in height by his Clifton Rd neighbour, technology entrepreneur Annette Presley, a council compliance officer agreed the 5-metre fence should be lowered to its original height of 2.4m.

The officer said he wouldn’t ask for it to be lowered further than the original 2.4m, as it had been there for two years and “the other fences in the area all breach the Unitary Plan for height”.

Now, after repeated council deadlines and legal notices, and several efforts to lower the fence, it is 3m high, which Auckland Council says means the issue is resolved.

Goodenough doesn’t agree and believes the council has broken its promises.

“They have decided it’s near the original height. I don’t think two-thirds of a metre is near the original height.”

Goodenough believes the council has been too lenient.

“The existing fence height blocks our view, especially from my office where I spend most of my time,” he says.

However, a December email from regulatory service director Craig Hobbs says the council has spent enough time on the issue and refers Goodenough to the council’s “unreasonable complainant conduct policy”.

Presley is out of the country, but her business manager and spokesperson, Hayley Maloney, says in an email, “I can confirm that we have complied with all notices from council.”

After Goodenough’s original complaint, the council gave Presley repeated deadlines to either lower the fence or apply for a resource consent.

This culminated in an abatement notice on 13 May, which gave Presley a month to remove the top fabric section of the fence and at least one metre of the supporting structure (equivalent to the original height), or apply for a retrospective consent.

Still unhappy, Goodenough paid for a civil engineer’s report in July that concluded the fence was a safety hazard.

Shortly afterwards, in early August, the council posted an Unsafe Building Notice requiring the fence be lowered to 3m.

In response to the notice, the fence height was reduced, first by the fabric section, then, in response to another council request, by a further four planks, leaving it still 60cm higher than it was originally.

In December, Hobbs sent the email stating the fence was at its original height and the council considered the matter resolved.

Following an enquiry from the Observer this month, Hobbs sent Goodenough another email, saying he now realises the fence is a little higher than it was originally, but it is compliant with the Unitary Plan.

Hobbs told the Observer last week that Presley will not be required to lower it further.

Goodenough is unsatisfied, believing fences over 2m need a consent, though he is not keen to take the matter to the Ombudsman’s Office, as Hobbs suggests.

This article originally appeared in the 24 January 2020 edition of the Rangitoto Observer.