The inspectorate concluded: “Even if the Council had excluded the means of enclosure from its assessment, there is nothing to suggest that the planning application would have been approved and an appeal averted.
“Thus, I do not find there to be sufficient grounds for the Council’s actions to be considered as unreasonable nor for them to have delayed a development which should clearly have been permitted.
“Therefore, unreasonable behaviour resulting in unnecessary or wasted expense has not occurred and an award of costs is not warranted.”
In a statement, a Chichester District Council spokesman told GB News: “This matter concerns a change of use of land from open amenity space to garden, rather than just the installation a fence.
“The piece of land in question had been an area of open amenity land for many years, and has added to the feeling of space and openness which is highly valued by residents in the area.
“The Planning Inspector upheld the council’s decision to refuse permission to change the use of the land and the fencing enclosure that would result from it, for the same reasons, and agreed that it was not consistent with the way that the estate had originally been designed.”
