Google MapsA Kilmarnock resident has lodged an appeal after East Ayrshire Council refused permission for a boundary fence and the change of use of a small area of open land to a private garden.
The retrospective application concerns Witchknowe Court, where the homeowner has built a six-foot-tall fence around 176 square metres of unmaintained amenity ground beside their house.
The applicant claimed that they had the support of around 40 residents.
The land had been part of a larger area of shared open space created when the former Witchknowe Creamery site was redeveloped into housing around 20 years ago.
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The application had been refused, with planning officers describing the larger areas as having multiple uses and benefits including enhancing the appearance of the area, providing informal recreation, exercise, and play space, providing wildlife habitat, and an informal path.
Officers also said that a “perceived” lack of maintenance, the condition of a previous boundary fence, changes to development plans and lack of a play park was not justification.
Planners added that the works undertaken by the resident “has resulted in the enclosure and fortification of an area of amenity open space and physical division of the amenity open space which now blocks access through the area of amenity open space within the space and also outwith the site”.
In their appeal, the applicant argues that the enclosed section forms “only a small fraction” of the total amenity land and that the remainder of the site “has not been maintained for more than ten years” and offers “limited or no amenity value”.
Photographs submitted with the review show overgrown vegetation and broken fencing around parts of the estate.
The applicant said they were not aware that planning consent was required for the erection of the fence, adding that a petition signed by 40 residents supports the change.
They told the council’s enforcement team that they intended only to tidy and secure the area and were later advised to submit the application retrospectively.
The appeal argues that the proposal complies with development plans and policies on green infrastructure.
It cites national policy, stating that the small loss of land “will not result in or exacerbate a deficit in green infrastructure provision”.
According to the submission, the wider development would still have 2,445 square metres of shared open space across six separate areas — more than double the minimum required by council standards.
The site itself is not listed as “safeguarded open space” under the local plan, the applicant notes, and lies close to Bellfield Park, a larger public recreation area.
In support of the fence, the appeal states that it is “fully compatible with others in the area and makes a positive contribution to the visual amenity of the neighbourhood”.
It adds: “The proposed change of use and the fence will significantly improve the visual appearance of the area.”
The case will be considered by East Ayrshire Council’s Local Review Body on Friday, which will decide whether to uphold the Council’s original refusal or grant permission for the fence and change of use to remain in place.
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