You will need to apply for planning permission if you wish to erect or add to a fence, wall or gate and:
- it would be over 1 metre high and next to a highway used by vehicles (or the footpath of such a highway); or over 2 metres high elsewhere; or
- your right to put up or alter fences, walls and gates is removed by an article 4 direction or a planning condition (see below); or
- the fence, wall or gate, or any other boundary involved, is in the curtilage of a listed building..
You will not need to apply for planning permission to take down a fence, wall or gate, or to alter, maintain or improve an existing fence, wall or gate (no matter how high) if you don't increase its height. In a conservation area, however, you might need conservation area consent to take down a fence, wall or gate.
Householder guide
The Welsh Government has produced a technical guide, and a householder guide, available here, to help you understand how permitted development rules might apply to your circumstances.
Removal of permitted development rights
You need to be aware of whether the permitted development rights have been removed from your property by the Local Planning Authority. If they have been removed, you must submit a planning application for the work.
The Local Planning Authority may have removed some of your permitted development rights as a condition of the original planning permission for your property. This information will be available on the planning register held by the Local Planning Authority. Permitted development rights may also have been removed by an 'Article 4' direction. These are most common in conservation areas where the character of an area could be threatened by unmanaged development. Your solicitor should have informed you of whether an article 4 direction exists when you purchased your property, but you can check with the Local Planning Authority if you are not sure.