Fencer in Margate Old Town.

Margate Old Town is a conservation area administered by Thanet District Council. That changes what you can put up on a front boundary and what needs a planning application before it goes up. Article 4 directions on some Old Town streetscape remove permitted-development rights that apply elsewhere in Thanet - which means a fence that would go straight up in Palm Bay might need a full planning application on Market Street or Duke Street.

Height limits are tighter too. Front boundaries adjoining a highway are limited to 1m under permitted development, and in a conservation area even that is up for discussion if the existing streetscape is lower.

The sympathetic streetscape choices here are painted picket (3ft, white or cream), close-braced boarded gates in period-appropriate style, and low walls topped with railings rather than solid fence. Modern overlap panels and 6ft palisade are not the right answer on Old Town frontages.

Rear boundaries hidden from public view have more flexibility - a 6ft closeboard rear boundary is usually fine even inside the conservation zone, as long as it is not visible from the street. Always worth a check with Thanet DC before ordering on any Old Town address.

Typical jobs on this patch

• Picket fencing - painted, sympathetic to Old Town streetscape
• Gates - japanned hardware, period-appropriate
• Closeboard - on rear boundaries out of streetscape sight
• Sympathetic repair - keep existing style where the streetscape has one