Charlotte hides behind her illegal fence
An attempt by Charlotte Church to keep prying eyes away from her home has got her in trouble with the council.
The singer and chat show host has erected a 16ft-high fence outside the home she shares with Welsh rugby international Gavin Henson in Llandaff, Cardiff, but failed to ask permission from the local council.
A giant wooden archway and boundary fences now surround the 10ft metal gates the couple had already installed just months after moving into the house at the end of last year.
Twenty-year-old Churchhas had to lodge a retrospective planning application with Cardiff City Council and can now expect a visit from officials wanting to inspect the construction to decide if it can stay.
Neighbours will also be asked their views on the fencing, but those who gave their opinions today did not seem to mind.
Louise Pletcher, who lives a couple of doors away, said: “I generally don’t mind. She presumably wants her privacy and it doesn’t bother me.
“There are often photographers on the road interested in hers and Gavin’s comings and goings, so presumably she wants to be private.
“I have no objection to the gates whatsoever.”
Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “I really don’t mind at all.”
An official spokeswoman for Church declined to comment.
A Cardiff City Council spokeswoman said: “The fence is over two metres high so it needs planning permission. A retrospective planning application has now been lodged.
“The next stage will be a consultation with local councillors and neighbours living adjacent to the property, as normal, then it will come back before the planning committee.”
The spokeswoman said planning officials would also be conducting a site visit, but could not say when that would be.
