Fence Heights and Permitted Development Rights for Farms
Putting up a new fence sounds like the simplest job on the farm, yet it's one of the most common sources of planning confusion. Many landowners assume any new boundary line needs a formal application, while others build first and ask questions later. Permitted development rights already cover most agricultural fencing, but the height you're allowed to build without consent changes depending on where that fence sits, particularly next to a road. With rural crime, biosecurity concerns and diversification projects all pushing farmers to rethink their boundaries, getting the height rules right now avoids expensive problems later.
What Counts as Permitted Development for Farm Fencing
The General Permitted Development Order gives farmers the right to erect, alter or replace fences, walls, gates and other means of enclosure without submitting a full planning application, provided the work stays within set limits. This covers everyday agricultural boundary work: dividing fields for grazing rotation, securing yards and stores, protecting young hedgerows or crops from livestock and wildlife, and improving farm security. The right exists because boundary treatment is treated as routine agricultural management rather than development that needs scrutiny, but it only holds as permitted development while the fence stays under the relevant height limit for its location.
The 2 Metre Rule — and Why It Drops to 1 Metre Near a Highway
Away from roads, agricultural fences, walls and gates can generally be built up to 2 metres high without planning permission. That height suits most farming needs: stock-proof perimeter fencing, deer and vermin exclusion around crops or young plantations, and taller security fencing around machinery stores and yards. The rules change, however, where the fence adjoins a highway used by vehicles. In that situation, the permitted height drops to 1 metre. The reduction exists for road safety: tall boundary structures close to a carriageway can block visibility splays at junctions, bends and field accesses, putting drivers, cyclists and pedestrians at risk. It's worth remembering that a highway isn't limited to busy A-roads; it can include quieter classified and unclassified roads too, so the status of the boundary you're building against needs checking before work starts, not after.
Practical Implications for Farm Businesses
For a farm business, these two figures matter well beyond a single field boundary. A perimeter that runs partly alongside a lane and partly through open fields may legitimately need to step down in height at the point it meets the highway, so measuring and planning the run in sections avoids an unintentional breach. Height is measured from ground level, which can be a point of dispute where a bank, ditch or verge changes the effective height of the finished fence, so it's worth clarifying with the local planning authority if the ground isn't flat. The same logic applies to diversification projects: security fencing around a farm shop, livery yard or glamping site entrance often sits close to a road frontage, so the 1 metre limit can catch schemes that were designed around the more generous 2 metre figure. Building over height without permission risks an enforcement notice and the cost of taking the fence down and starting again, so a quick check against the boundary's highway status is far cheaper than correcting the work later.
How Foxes Rural Can Help
Boundary and fencing questions rarely stay simple once diversification, road frontage or listed land is involved, and getting the detail wrong can turn a routine job into an enforcement case. Foxes Rural works with farm businesses across the country to interpret permitted development rights correctly the first time, drawing on close working knowledge of CLA and NFU guidance alongside day-to-day experience of what local planning authorities actually expect on the ground. If you're planning a new fence line, a farm boundary review, or a wider diversification project that touches on permitted development, call us on 01206 481981 or get in touch through our Contact page and we'll talk you through your options.