Next to a road used by cars, or its footpath, a fence can be up to one metre high without planning permission. Everywhere else in the garden, the limit is two metres, measured from ground level. The same goes for walls and gates.
A few things change that. If an old fence is already taller than these limits, you cannot make it any higher without permission. If your house is a protected historic building, or the fence runs along the grounds of one, a new fence needs permission. In a conservation area, even taking a fence down might need it. A planning condition or council direction can also remove the right, so check with the council before you build.
Be sure where the line runs too. Most title plans do not show the exact boundary between two gardens, and there is usually no record of who owns the fence. You and your neighbour can make a boundary agreement to record it. If it turns into a disagreement, talk to them first, then try a mediation service.
Checking all this before the posts go in is far easier than changing a fence once it is up. Call me before you order panels if you are next to a road, a protected historic building or in a conservation area. At M&R Property & Paving Services I put up garden fences across Staines, and I will go through the height limits for your boundary first.
