Garden and boundary walls in Notting Hill and Holland Park.

Can you take down a front wall?

In a conservation area, usually not without permission. Class C of the General Permitted Development Order normally allows the demolition of a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure, but it expressly excludes relevant demolition in a conservation area.

What you can build without permission

• One metre where the wall adjoins a highway used by vehicles, or the footpath of one.
• Two metres anywhere else.

Is the wall even yours?

This is worth settling before you spend anything. A masonry wall that stands astride the boundary line between two owners and separates the two properties is a party fence wall under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. Wooden fences and hedges are not covered.

Why garden walls fail before the house does

A garden wall has none of the protection a house wall has. No roof, no overhang, no heated interior drying it from behind. It is exposed on both faces and from above, it wets and dries from both sides, and it has to resist wind load on its own without a building to brace it.

The failure modes surveyors report on free-standing walls are consistent: frost damage, particularly at the base, sulphate expansion within the materials, inadequate foundations or ground movement, and cracking from tree growth, overloading or impact.

The coping is usually the real problem

Missing coping is one of the most common problems reported on garden walls, and it is the defect that causes most of the others.

Why cement is worse here than on the house

The principle is the same as on any historic masonry. The mortar should be slightly weaker and more permeable than the brick, so the joint takes the wear and lets moisture out. Cement reverses that, trapping water and pushing it out through the brick face instead.

Leaning, bulging and safety

Leaning and bulging are signs of structural distress rather than cosmetic wear, and they are checked with a plumb bob rather than by eye.

If your survey flagged the wall

Surveyors are told to report the risk from garden and boundary walls even where the format of the report does not let them give the wall a formal condition rating. A wall next to a pavement, a wall out of plumb, or a wall with no coping will be written up as a hazard.

Common questions

Do I need planning permission to demolish a garden wall in a conservation area?

Usually yes. Class C of the General Permitted Development Order normally allows demolition of a wall, but it expressly excludes relevant demolition in a conservation area. A wall is caught where it is one metre or more high next to a highway, public footpath, bridleway, waterway or open space, or two metres or more high elsewhere. Most front garden walls in Notting Hill and Holland Park clear that first threshold.

Can I take down just part of the wall instead?

Not as a way round the rule. The High Court decision in Barton (2017) established that demolishing part of a structure can still trigger the protection. Describing the work as partial does not by itself avoid the need for permission.

How high can I build a garden wall without planning permission?

One metre where it adjoins a highway used by vehicles or its footpath, and two metres elsewhere. If an existing wall is already above those heights you cannot raise it further without permission. Different rules apply if the property is listed or within the curtilage of a listed building, or where an Article 4 direction is in force.

Is my garden wall a party wall?

If it is a masonry wall standing astride the boundary line between two owners and used to separate the two properties, it is a party fence wall under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. Wooden fences and hedges are not. A wall built wholly on your own land is a boundary wall and is treated differently.

Do I have to give my neighbour notice before working on a party fence wall?

Works to a party fence wall fall under section 1 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 and require at least one month's written notice to the adjoining owner. Building a new wall astride the boundary needs their written consent; without it you must build entirely on your own land.

Why do garden walls fail faster than the walls of the house?

Because they are exposed on both faces and from above. There is no roof overhang, no heated interior drying them out, and they carry wind load without the support of a building. Surveyors report frost damage at the base, sulphate expansion, foundation movement and tree damage as the usual causes.

What is the most common problem with a boundary wall?

A missing or failed coping. The coping is what keeps water out of the top of the wall. Once the head of the wall is open, it saturates from above and frost and sulphate damage follow underneath.

When is a leaning wall dangerous?

Leaning and bulging indicate structural distress and are checked with a plumb bob. Scale matters: a low front wall failing is a nuisance, whereas a two and a half metre boundary wall next to a public pavement is a safety matter, and the liability sits with the owner.

Where this comes from

Permitted development heights and demolition rules are from the Planning Portal and Class C of the General Permitted Development Order. Notice requirements are from the government's explanatory booklet on the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. Conservation area coverage is from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Check your own address on the council's planning map before committing to anything.

For what the repair itself involves, and the difference between repointing a wall and rebuilding one that is moving, see our page on garden and boundary wall repair in London.

Tell us what your wall is doing and we will tell you what it needs →