PARISH OWNED WALLS AND FENCES

BAR HILL PARISH COUNCIL

Parish Owned Walls

The Planning Committee’s Terms of Reference with regard to the above as follows:-

· To identify those walls and boundary fences within the jurisdiction of the Parish Council

· To organise repairs and obtain tenders where necessary for repair, renewal or removal

A fence does not have the same life expectancy of a brick wall but obviously the expense of erecting a brick wall must be taken into consideration especially where insurance claims are concerned, as this could increase annual premiums quite drastically.

Therefore it was agreed that when a claim comes in for repairs or replacement of a brick wall the Clerk will need to ascertain in writing the ownership of the said wall before any claim could be made to the insurers.

Recommendation

The recommendation for a Policy under the heading of Parish Council owned walls and fences should read as follows:-

· The responsibility is with the householder to prove the ownership of the wall

· Once proof has been ascertained the wall will be replaced with a wooden fence. Two quotations will be sought, one for brick and one for wooden.

· Householder to be informed the prices and they should then be given the choice of a wooden fence or brick wall. If they choose the latter then they must pay the difference.

The reason for this policy is due to escalating insurance premiums in the past and the Parish Council do not wish to be in a position whereby we cannot obtain insurance for the village as a whole due to claims being put in for brick walls.

Adopted 27 January 2003

Reviewed September 2005