A fence in this patch can need three separate yeses. In Edgbaston, the Calthorpe Estate expects to approve most fencing under its Scheme of Management. In Moor Pool and around Greenfield Road in Harborne, the council has removed the right to put up a front fence without planning permission. Cross into Sandwell and the rules relax: most Bearwood, Smethwick and Oldbury fences are ordinary jobs, where the hard part is getting panels through a terrace and the old ones to the tip.
Ground and Gate doesn't do the work. We pass your enquiry to one local fencing specialist who covers B15, B16, B17, B32, B66, B67 and B68, and they confirm a fixed price with you directly.
What a new fence costs in Edgbaston and Harborne
Rates are per metre, supply and fit, waste included, indicative for the West Midlands.
| Style | Under 1m | About 1.2m | About 1.8m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overlap panels | £36–£54 | £48–£72 | £60–£90 |
| Featheredge / closeboard | £57–£81 | £76–£108 | £95–£135 |
| Slatted / contemporary | £78–£114 | £104–£152 | £130–£190 |
| Post and rail | £24–£39 | £32–£52 | £40–£65 |
Then add:
| Extra | Per metre |
|---|---|
| Concrete posts instead of timber | about £10 |
| Removing and taking away the old fence | £8–£15 |
The patch produces two very different jobs. Behind an Edgbaston villa, a rear boundary can run 30 metres or more. At 1.8m featheredge on concrete posts with the old fence removed, 30 metres comes to about £3,390–£4,800, and longer runs tend to sit at the lower end per metre. In a Bearwood or Smethwick yard, the run may be under 8 metres, so the job often meets the minimum charge of about £420. The fence cost per metre guide shows how the figures are built up.
What pushes the price up here
- Consent conditions. On the Calthorpe Estate and in the Article 4 streets, you may be told to match an existing style or colour, which can rule out the cheapest panel.
- Shared entries. Terraces in Bearwood, Smethwick and off Harborne High Street often have no side access, so everything goes through the house. Allow 15–20% more.
- High groundwater. Sandwell's 2024 flood risk assessment puts groundwater within half a metre of the surface in parts of the south-east of the borough, and names Smethwick as an area of higher groundwater flood risk. Deep post holes there can take on water, which slows the concrete.
- The ground. Moor Pool sits mostly on sand and gravel, with boulder clay higher up the valley sides, according to the council's appraisal. Clay is slower to dig, and old rubble and footings along a boundary add time anywhere.
- Disposal. Old panels and broken concrete have to go somewhere. Removal adds £8–£15 a metre. See the tip rules below.
Calthorpe Estate, Moor Pool and the Article 4 streets
The Calthorpe Estate, Edgbaston. The Residents' Handbook says changes to the garden, such as fencing or gates, will in the majority of cases need consent under the Scheme. That applies to freeholders as well as leaseholders. Its fence rules are specific:
- New front garden fences and walls should match those already in the road and not normally exceed 1 metre.
- Some 1960s and 1970s developments were designed with open frontages, and these must stay open.
- Rear fencing should match existing fencing in the area in colour and style and not normally exceed 2 metres.
The estate consults neighbours, who get 14 days to comment. A team then decides the application at a monthly review meeting. Estate consent is not planning permission, and the estate says it can't step in to settle a boundary dispute between neighbours.
Moor Pool, Harborne. An Article 4(2) Direction covers every house on the estate. The council's appraisal and management plan says planning permission is needed to put up, alter or take down a front boundary wall or fence. Beech hedges were the original front boundary and the council encourages replanting them. The chain-link fences with white posts that first lined the fronts have all gone, and the stone retaining walls on High Brow and Margaret Grove are to be kept and repaired.
Greenfield Road, Harborne. The council's 2009 Article 4 Direction covers putting up, altering or demolishing a gate, fence or wall facing a road, waterway or open space. It lists the houses, including numbers on Greenfield Road, St Mary's Road, Vivian Road, South Street, Bull Street and York Street.
Edgbaston conservation area. Birmingham lists the Edgbaston Article 4 Direction as covering only part of the area. The council's published reports include a 2001 decision to serve one on 65–72 Wheeleys Lane, a row of Victorian houses with their original boundaries. Check with the conservation team if your house fronts a street in the conservation area.
Getting rid of the old fence
Sandwell side. The Shidas Lane tip in Oldbury has a wood skip. You must book every visit, show identification for the address the waste came from, and have a Sandwell postcode. Vans, pick-ups and cars with trailers are limited to one booking every four weeks, and hard-core and rubble, including old post footings, to eight bags or 200kg a month. No trade waste is accepted.
Birmingham side. Every Birmingham tip needs a booking and proof of address, and commercial vehicles aren't admitted.
So a fencing firm can't use either. If you want the old fence taken away, the specialist uses a registered waste carrier and includes it in the £8–£15 a metre.
What the job involves
- Consent first. The specialist checks whether you are on the Calthorpe Estate, in Moor Pool or on an Article 4 street, and who owns the boundary.
- Taking down. The old panels and posts come out, footings in the way are broken out, and the waste is loaded for disposal.
- Building the fence. Posts go in concrete, then gravel boards and panels, or featheredge built on site. Sloping plots get stepped panels.
- Handover. Capping and any stain you chose, then a clear-up.
Questions about new fences in Edgbaston & Harborne
How high can a rear fence be on the Calthorpe Estate?
Normally no more than 2 metres, and it should match the colour and style of other fencing in the area. That is the estate's own limit under its Scheme of Management, on top of the 2 metre planning limit. Expect to apply for consent first.
Do I need planning permission to replace a front fence in Moor Pool?
Yes. The Article 4(2) Direction covers every house on the Moor Pool estate, and the council's management plan says permission is needed to build or demolish a front boundary wall or fence. Replanting a beech hedge is the change it actively encourages.
Can I take old fence panels from Bearwood to Shidas Lane in a van?
Yes, if your address is in Sandwell, but a van, pick-up or trailer gets one booking every four weeks. Book the slot before hiring the van. Wood goes in its own skip, and broken concrete is capped at eight bags or 200kg a month.
Which Harborne streets need permission for a new front fence?
The houses listed in the Greenfield Road conservation area's Article 4 Direction, which include parts of Greenfield Road, St Mary's Road, Vivian Road, South Street, Bull Street and York Street, plus every house on the Moor Pool estate. Elsewhere in Harborne, the national limits of 1 metre next to a road and 2 metres elsewhere apply.