Dorset homeowner builds 7ft concrete ‘Berlin Wall’ outside £1,000,000 home

A homeowner has angered neighbors after replacing a wooden boundary fence with a huge concrete structure they say resembles the Berlin Wall.

Ken Lynch built a 75ft long grey wall along the side of his detached house on Sandbanks Road in the Lilliput area of Poole, Dorset.

The imposing wall is over 7ft tall and has been described by some as an eyesore.

The new wall is part of the transformation of the property, which began as a bungalow with a low-brick wall.

The former owner won permission to turn the bungalow into a two-storey house with a large rear extension, raising its worth to £1,000,000.

A wooden slatted fence was temporarily erected along the boundary before it was replaced with the permanent grey wall, which has infuriated nearby residents.

But the structure is so big it requires planning permission – which the new owner, Mr Lynch, has had to apply for retrospectively.

neighbors have written letters of objection to the BCP Council, urging them to refuse permission, in which case Mr Lynch may have to demolish it.

Resident Annabel Hobson, 67, a retired accounts clerk, said she was horrified when she first saw the wall.

‘I walk my dog past the wall every day, and it looks like the Berlin Wall. There used to be a wooden slatted fence, which was nice on the eye, but they have replaced it with an eyesore,’ she said.

‘When you walk past the wall, it feels like it is leaning on you, and the path has narrowed. It looks like they are trying to barricade themselves in, and it is not in keeping with the area.’

Ms Hobson said the neighborhood’s deeds of covenant detail that walls must keep with the look of the area, so the large stone construction stunned residents.

‘I assumed they had planning permission, so when I learnt they were applying retrospectively, I was shocked,’ she added.

‘I do hope planners will ask for it to be taken down and permission is not granted, as in the future, other property owners will feel they too can erect walls to barricade themselves in.’

Another neighbor, who did not wish to be named, said the wall was ‘horrible’ to look at and a downgrade on the old wooden fence.

He said the height of the wall makes it ‘visually intrusive and overly dominant in the street and creates an enclosed and oppressive appearance.’

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