A Southampton homeowner must take down a 6ft fence on their property despite concerns that children’s safety and privacy is being at risk.

Retrospective permission was refused for the fence at a Moorlands Crescent property in Harefield by Southampton City Council’s Planning and Rights of Way Panel on Tuesday.

This was despite the homeowner arguing that antisocial behaviour occurred in his garden before the fence was built, frightening their children and putting them at risk of harm.

The homeowner, Jamie Risk, told the committee that he built the fence with the help of his neighbours as a result of the antisocial behaviour in his garden, which is at front of the property.

READ MORE: Southampton homeowner could be told to remove 'unreasonable' fence

At the panel, Mr Risk said: “I gained the support of the neighbours from the numbers 4, 6, 24, 25, 26, 29, and 30. Numbers 4 and 6 even helped me to build that.

“On many occasions, when people walk past the property, they can see directly into my sitting room. There has been antisocial behaviour.

"We had somebody restrained who had been found in our front garden, which terrified my children.

“When I had my brave girl running into my bedroom because somebody was in her front garden and being restrained by the police with a number of other teenagers and my nine-year-old son, who also tried to act tough, which was also very scary, my duty was to protect them.

"I had to ensure they could walk safely within the property; that was my biggest concern.”

He also indicated that his other concerns regarding his children’s privacy since, during the hot weather, they have to worry about what his wife and his children were wearing because people can stare at his living room inappropriately.

He said: “Although the lighting may be a problem only most during the evening, it turns up the problem during the day to your mental health when you have to sit there in the boiling hot heat worrying about what you are wearing and what my children are wearing to try to cool them down because people can look directly through."

Mr Risk added: “Similar fences have been built up. Properties that have been behind building French gates and 6ft fences directly behind me which haven’t had any planning permission.”

After his declaration, planning officers indicated that despite accepting the rare layout of the property with the garden in the front of the property, other alternatives that don’t need planning permission could be chosen to mitigate the privacy and safety issues.

Councillor Mrs Sue Blatchford said: “I’ve got a lot of sympathy for Mrs and Mr Risk. I’m also living in an awful plan environment regarding front gardens. I understand the desire of the children to have the fence all the way around the property. However, one of the problems with some forms of boundary trees is that they grow wild.

“Despite what I have said that I have sympathy for the family, I have to agree with the officers’ recommendation because the impact on the area’s character is severe, and we have to go along with the refusal.

The recommendation to refuse the fence at the property was supported.