A RETIRED couple who were ordered to take down their 6ft garden fence after a neighbour complained are elated the decision has been overturned by councillors.

Ronald and Jennifer Anderson were told to remove the £1,500 fence three years after it replaced a 20ft-high hedge outside their home in Pencaitland, near Edinburgh.

East Lothian council told them to apply for planning permission after spotting the fence, and once they did their appeal was rejected.

The pair were using the wooden boundary to keep their dog Barclay safe while romping in the garden.

Planners ruled the fence was "not appropriate for its setting" and "out of character" with the "largely low front roadside boundary enclosures".

They also claimed it risked setting a "dangerous precedent" for other front gardens in the area.

Mr Anderson begged the council's Local Review Body to reconsider, saying that he would grow plants in front of the structure to cover it.

Now the delighted couple are celebrating local councillors who overturned the original decision.

On Thursday a majority agreed the Andersons could keep their fence, as long as they provide a landscape plan to show how they will use foliage to cover it.

According to the East Lothian Courier, Chairperson Jeremy Findlay said: "I can understand why officers made their decision and am not being critical of them at all but I think if the hedge is grown up it will cover the fence and that, to me, is important."

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Mr Anderson shared his relief, saying: "I am delighted that common sense has prevailed and councillors have understood that we have tried to improve the look of the area.

"We are happy to comply with their condition, we all want the same thing, which is for it to look good, while at the same time giving us security."

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