October 9, 2015 4:00pm by David Farrar

The Roseneath fence row

Get ready for another round of fencegate.

The saga surrounding a four-metre high fence that blocked the million-dollar views of a Wellington couple living next door is heading to the High Court.

Wellington City Council’s manager of city planning and design Warren Ulusele confirmed that fence builder David Walmsley was appealing the decision to have it torn down.

Walmsley built the 11-metre long structure on his Maida Vale Rd property in the suburb of Roseneath, which was listed as a children’s fort in order to get resource consent.

It left his neighbours, Peter and Sylvia Aitchison, staring at timber rather than the breathtaking views of Wellington Harbour they used to enjoy. They claim the fence has wiped $900,000 off the value of their $1.6 million home.

It seems apparent Walmsley has built the fence purely to screw over the neighbours. It is hard to think of a more antagonistic move.

My view is that he should be allowed the fence if he compensates the neighbours for their loss in value.