How high can a fence be without planning permission?
Up to 2 m, or 1 m next to a road used by vehicles, which covers most front gardens. That's in England, for houses and flats alike. Enter your fence, wall or gate and we'll check it rule by rule, including slopes, trellis and walls.
1. Your address (optional)
Article 4 directions and listed buildings can switch these rights off. We check what your council has published.Your postcode stays in your browser. We only fetch the data for its first half (for example "SW1A"). See the map and everything published for this postcode
2. Your fence, wall or gate
At its tallest point, from the ground on the lower side, including posts and anything on top. Feet work too: type 6ft.
Not sure? Search the National Heritage List for England.
Example
The highest fence you can put up without planning permission: 2 m (1 m next to a road)
Drawn here: a 2 m fence away from a road, on level ground, right up to the limit. The verdict below is for this example, not for your fence.
Example
Likely permitted development, with things to check
Everything we can measure fits. Read the 2 points marked Check below before you build.
This is guidance, not legal advice. For certainty, apply to your council for a Lawful Development Certificate.
Rule by rule
- FitsHeight: max 2 mYours: 2 m. Limit: 2 m.Source:
Schedule 2, Part 2, Class A, paragraph A.1(b)
“the height of any other gate, fence, wall or means of enclosure erected or constructed would exceed 2 metres above ground level”
- No effectNext to a road used by vehicles? (1 m limit if so)You said it's away from any road.Source:
Schedule 2, Part 2, Class A, paragraph A.1(a)(ii)
the height of any gate, fence, wall or means of enclosure erected or constructed adjacent to a highway used by vehicular traffic would, after the carrying out of the development, exceed— “in any other case, 1 metre above ground level”
- No effectGround level: where the height is measured fromLevel ground: measured from the ground next to it.Source:
Schedule 2, Part 2, Class A, paragraph A.1(b)
“the height of any other gate, fence, wall or means of enclosure erected or constructed would exceed 2 metres above ground level”
- FitsNot in the grounds of, or around, a listed buildingYou said it isn't.Source:
Schedule 2, Part 2, Class A, paragraph A.1(d)
“it would involve development within the curtilage of, or to a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure surrounding, a listed building”
- CheckNo Article 4 direction removes these rightsEnter your postcode above and we'll check what your council has published.Source:
Article 4(1)
“may make a direction under this paragraph that the permission granted by article 3 does not apply to— (a) all or any development of the Part, Class or paragraph in question in an area specified in the direction; or (b) any particular development, falling within that Part, Class or paragraph, which is specified in the direction”
- CheckNo planning condition removes these rightsWas your house built in the last 30 years, or on an estate? A planning condition may have removed these rights. Check the council's planning register.Source:
Article 3(4)
“Nothing in this Order permits development contrary to any condition imposed by any planning permission granted or deemed to be granted under Part 3 or Part 13 of the Act otherwise than by this Order”
3. Check for planning conditions
Was your house built in the last 30 years, or on an estate? Planning conditions may have removed these rights. When a council grants planning permission for new houses, it can attach a condition that removes some or all permitted development rights, for example extensions, outbuildings or fences. This is common on newer estates. If there is such a condition, the rights in this checker do not apply and you need planning permission. Open data does not record these conditions, so this tool cannot check them for you. The 30 years is a prompt, not a legal cut-off. A condition on a permission of any age still applies.
How to check
- Find your council's online planning register (search for the council name and "planning applications search").
- Search by your address, your road name or the estate name for the permission that allowed the house to be built. On an estate this is usually the developer's application, which may list many plots.
- Open the decision notice and read the conditions. Look for any condition that mentions the General Permitted Development Order, "permitted development", or Part 2 (Class A: gates, fences and walls) of Schedule 2, or that says no fences, walls or gates may be put up without permission. A condition that only removes other rights (for example extensions or outbuildings) doesn't affect this project.
- Also check any later permission for your house, such as an earlier extension. Its conditions can remove rights too.
- If the permission is old and not online, ask the council's planning department, or look at the local authority search in your purchase documents.
- If you are still unsure, ask the council or apply for a Lawful Development Certificate.
Fence and wall height: common questions
Do I need planning permission for a fence?
Usually not, if it's no higher than 2 m, or 1 m where it's next to a road used by vehicles. Those are the permitted development limits for England (Part 2, Class A of the 2015 Order), and they apply in conservation areas too.
You do need permission if it is in the grounds of, or around, a listed building, if it blocks road users' view dangerously, or if an Article 4 direction or a condition on your house's planning permission removes these rights.
How high can a fence be in the front garden, or next to a road or pavement?
1 m, if it is "adjacent to a highway used by vehicular traffic", which is the case for most front-garden fences beside a road or its pavement. There's no set distance from the road: what matters is whether it's adjacent.
The Order doesn't define "adjacent". Inspectors have found fences set back behind a footpath, a verge or a hedge still adjacent, because they read as the boundary with the road. In one case, hoardings set back from the kerb, behind the line of the neighbours' hedges, were found not adjacent. A fence between two front gardens, away from the road, can be up to 2 m.
Can I put up a 6ft fence between neighbours?
Yes, if it isn't next to a road: 6 ft is about 1.83 m, which is under the 2 m limit. Next to a road the limit is 1 m, so a 6 ft fence there needs planning permission.
Posts, post caps and anything fixed on top count towards the height. Planning permission is separate from who owns the boundary.
Does trellis on top of a fence or wall count towards the height?
Yes. Trellis, or a fence on top of a wall, is measured together with what's below it, so the total must be within 2 m (or 1 m next to a road).
Every appeal decision we found measured the trellis or timber on top with the fence or wall below it.
How is fence height measured on a slope?
Measure at the tallest point, from the ground on the lower side, to be safe. The Order says "above ground level" but doesn't say which side, or how to measure on a slope.
Inspectors have measured at several points along a fence and found a breach where it went over at any of them, used the road side for a roadside fence, and looked to the original ground where a garden had been raised.
Can I replace an old fence that is higher than the limit?
Not under permitted development, unless the new one is within the 2 m (or 1 m) limit. Only a fence that is repaired or altered may keep its former height; inspectors have found that a wholly new fence in its place is not an alteration, so the old height doesn't carry over.
In a conservation area, taking down an existing gate, fence or wall can need planning permission too: which ones depends on a direction of the Secretary of State that we haven't captured yet, so ask the council first.
Where these rules come from
- The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 2, Class A (gates, fences and walls), paragraphs A.1(a) to (d), and Part 11, Class C (demolition), on legislation.gov.uk. Text in force from 27 August 2026, checked 14 October 2026.
- Inspectors' readings: 11 appeal decisions on "adjacent to a highway" and 11 on ground level, slopes and raised ground, each read in full from the Planning Inspectorate's or the council's published copy. They are readings, not the law.
- Address checks: planning.data.gov.uk (councils' conservation areas and Article 4 directions) and Historic England's National Heritage List (listed buildings). Where a council hasn't published a dataset, we say so.
More checks
- Check my addressConservation areas, Article 4, listed buildings and more for your postcode, on a map.
- Garden room and outbuilding checkerHeight near the boundary, roof shape, eaves, how much of the garden it covers, and use.
- Rear and side extension checkerSingle and two-storey, the larger home extension route, eaves near a boundary.
- Heat pump checkerAir, ground and water source, including the May 2025 changes.
- Loft and dormer checkerThe volume allowance, front roof slopes, side windows and set-backs.