Privacy strips: wind catcher and the UK height limits
Updated: October 2026
You are looking at a long roll and an open boundary, and it is easy to treat the tape as a new fence you can run to whatever height feels private. Privacy strips, wind and fence height rules are the limit on that idea. Weaving tape into mesh you already have does not cancel the height tests, and it does turn open mesh into a larger wind catcher. The rolls themselves are on the [privacy strips comparison](/hub/hedges-and-privacy-screens/privacy-strips). The height tests below are from the Planning Portal, legislation.gov.uk and the devolved government pages. No roll in this set states a wind class. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You are looking at a long roll and an open boundary, and it is easy to treat the tape as a new fence you can run to whatever height feels private. Privacy strips, wind and fence height rules are the limit on that idea.
You are looking at a long roll and an open boundary, and it is easy to treat the tape as a new fence you can run to whatever height feels private. Privacy strips, wind and fence height rules are the limit on that idea. Weaving tape into mesh you already have does not cancel the height tests, and it does turn open mesh into a larger wind catcher. The rolls themselves are on the privacy strips comparison. The height tests below are from the Planning Portal, legislation.gov.uk and the devolved government pages. No roll in this set states a wind class. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Strip width | Roll length | Stated fence fit | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  SONGMICS SONGMICS GPJ035H 35 m x 19 cm | 19 cm | 35 m | 20 cm grid claimed | 10.0 | about £21.60 | View offer |
| Alternative |  VOUNOT VOUNOT black 75 m x 4.7 cm | 4.7 cm | 75 m | No mesh size stated | 9.6 | about £29.99 | View offer |
| Preis-Tipp |  VOUNOT VOUNOT green 75 m x 4.7 cm | 4.7 cm | 75 m | No mesh size stated | 9.4 | about £15.47 | View offer |
On this page
Height limits still apply if you change the fence
In England, the Planning Portal's fences, gates and garden walls guidance follows the permitted-development tests in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 2, Class A. A gate, fence, wall or means of enclosure next to a highway used by vehicles, and that includes the footway, is limited to 1 metre. Elsewhere the limit is 2 metres. You must not raise an existing fence that is already over those limits, or take it above the height it already had if that height was lawful and higher only because it was already there within the old cap. Putting tape on a fence you are not raising is not the same project as building a new 2.5 m screen. It also does not give you permission to extend the posts so the tape can start higher. The right can be removed. Listed curtilage, a boundary with a listed building, an Article 4 direction and a planning condition can all take the permitted-development route away. Wales, on GOV.WALES, uses the same 1 metre and 2 metre idea. Scotland's Class 3E in Circular 1/2024 is close and not the same sentence: 2 metres, or 1 metre if the enclosure fronts a road or comes forward of the principal elevation or the nearest side wall, with conservation areas and listed curtilage outside the right. Northern Ireland's GPDO 2015, Part 3, uses 1 metre next to a road used by vehicular traffic and 2 metres elsewhere. If your fence is already at the limit, tape does not reset it.
Covered mesh catches more wind
Open mesh already catches wind. Tape, willow and bamboo catch more, which is Fenceonline's warning on their braided-tape page. They tell you to use sound posts, concrete where the site needs it, and to ask whether the garden is sheltered, in full wind, and whether you are screening 2 metres or only about 60 cm. They will not guarantee tape you add after they have installed the fence. A line on their wind note says the strips can take wind only if the posts are anchored. None of that is a pascal rating, and none of it is a wind class for SONGMICS or VOUNOT. We do not copy balcony-glass spans or BS EN 1991 figures onto this PVC. You can leave gaps. Fenceonline describe weaving every opening or only the bands at eye level. On an open, coastal or roadside run, a partly filled panel is the practical choice, and the 300 m black roll is the wrong default. Filling every gap because the carton is long increases the area that acts as a sail. If a post already moves while you tension one bay, more tape will load it further.
A hedge complaint is not a fence-tape complaint
High-hedge law is about plants. In England and Wales, Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 is the route behind the GOV.UK high hedges leaflet. A complaint needs a line of two or more trees or shrubs, mostly evergreen or semi-evergreen, over 2 metres, on someone else's land, and a reasonable enjoyment of your home that is harmed. Councils can reject a complaint if you have not tried to settle it with your neighbour. Scotland has its own definition in the High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013. Plastic tape on a metal mesh is not that line of shrubs. You cannot use the hedge leaflet to make a neighbour weave screening into their fence. You also cannot force a neighbour to raise their fence so that you gain privacy. Citizens Advice say that plainly: disagreement about a wall or fence is not an order to build a taller one. If the problem is a neighbour's plants, the hedge leaflet is the page to read. If the problem is your own mesh, the fence tests and the wind on the posts are the pages that apply.
When to ask before you buy the longest roll
Ask the local planning authority before you rely on permitted development if the house is listed, the boundary is in a conservation area in Scotland, an Article 4 direction is in force, or a condition on the estate says what may stand on that line. Ask a fencer if the posts move, the mesh needs replacing, or you want a new fence that would go over the 1 metre or 2 metre test. Concrete depth for a new post is their specification, not a figure we can give you from a tape listing. The longest roll in this set is 300 m of 4.7 cm tape. It does not change the height of a lawful fence, and it does not make an exposed site sheltered. On a corner plot beside a road, the 1 metre test is the one to read before you imagine a solid 2 m wall of PVC. Leave gaps, keep the posts as they are, and treat a moving post as the end of the job. Consumer Rights Act 2015 is the route for a short roll or clips that do not match the description. It is not a planning permission.
Common questions
Does adding privacy strips need planning permission?
Weaving tape into a fence you are not raising is not the same as building a new fence over the height limits. It does not cancel those limits, and it does not help if the right has already been removed. Listed curtilage, Article 4 directions and planning conditions can mean you need consent for the enclosure itself. If you would extend the posts, read the height tests before you buy a longer roll.
What is the 1 metre rule, and where does the 2 metre rule apply?
In England, 1 metre is the limit next to a highway used by vehicles, including the footway beside it. Two metres is the limit elsewhere. You must not raise an existing fence above those caps. The Planning Portal and Class A of the England GPDO 2015 are the public sources for that split. Tape on the mesh does not create a new, higher allowance.
Is the English wording the same in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
Wales uses the same 1 metre and 2 metre idea. Northern Ireland uses 1 metre next to a vehicular road and 2 metres elsewhere. Scotland's Class 3E allows 2 metres, or 1 metre if the enclosure fronts a road or comes forward of the principal or nearest side wall, and it takes conservation areas and listed curtilage out of the right. Do not treat the four as one sentence.
Will tape make an open mesh fence into a sail?
It increases the area that catches wind. Fenceonline say open mesh already catches wind and that tape catches more, and they will not guarantee tape added after installation. No listing in this set states a wind class or a pascal figure. Sound, anchored posts are their condition. A fully taped run on an exposed site is the case to avoid.
Can you leave some gaps to cut the wind area?
Yes. You can weave only some of the horizontal openings, including a band at eye level, which is how Fenceonline describe a partial cover. That reduces the screened area compared with filling every gap. It does not turn the remaining tape into a rated windbreak, and it does not raise the height you are allowed.
Can high-hedge law make a neighbour fit screening?
No. A high-hedge complaint is about a line of mostly evergreen trees or shrubs over 2 metres on their land. It is not a rule for plastic tape, and it is not an order to raise their fence. Citizens Advice say you cannot force a neighbour to build a higher fence. Talk to them first. Councils can refuse a hedge complaint where you have not tried.
When do you ask the planning authority or a fencer instead of buying a longer roll?
Ask planning if the site is listed, covered by Article 4 or a condition, or you want a new fence over the 1 metre or 2 metre test. Ask a fencer if the posts move or the mesh needs replacing. A 300 m roll does not anchor a post and does not grant consent. Fit one bay only when the fence you already have is the fence the rules allow.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts are from the five listings in this comparison, recorded on 19 October 2026. Page updated October 2026.
- Planning Portal, fences, gates and garden walls (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- England GPDO 2015, Class A gates, fences, walls (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- GOV.WALES, planning permission for fences, gates and garden walls (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Scotland Circular 1/2024, Class 3E (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Northern Ireland GPDO 2015, Part 3 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, high hedges: complaining to the council (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Citizens Advice, disagreeing about a wall or fence (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Fenceonline, braided tapes (retrieved 21 October 2026)