Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Trellis on a fence height

Updated: October 2026

You want a wooden strip on a fence, and the extra height decides whether you can put it up. A 1.8 m fence plus a 0.3 m trellis is about 2.1 m. An open lattice still counts, because the rule covers the means of enclosure. This page is trellis on a fence height in England, Wales, and Scotland. The narrow strips are in the [wood trellis comparison](/hub/plant-accessories/trellis-wood). Which panel to buy stays on [best wooden trellis](/hub/plant-accessories/trellis-wood/sub/trellis-wood-best). The Products Compared editorial team is summarising public UK guidance as of 16 October 2026, not giving a planning decision. Article 4 directions and local conditions can remove a national right.

You want a wooden strip on a fence, and the extra height decides whether you can put it up. A 1.8 m fence plus a 0.3 m trellis is about 2.1 m. An open lattice still counts, because the rule covers the means of enclosure.

Our top picks

Gardman Gardman 07250, 1.8 x 0.3 m

Best overall

Gardman Gardman 07250, 1.8 x 0.3 m
9.2/10about £7.14
View offer
XIANTIAN XIANTIAN pine, 200 x 30 cm

Alternative

XIANTIAN XIANTIAN pine, 200 x 30 cm
8.0/10about £14.44
View offer
kanta KANTA three-pack, 1.8 x 0.3 m

Alternative

kanta KANTA three-pack, 1.8 x 0.3 m
7.4/10about £13.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The trellis is part of the fence height
  2. 2.One metre by a road, two metres elsewhere
  3. 3.A 30 cm strip on a 1.8 m fence
  4. 4.Listed buildings, conservation areas, and when to ask

The trellis is part of the fence height

A lattice topper looks like decoration. Planning rules treat a fence, wall, or gate as a means of enclosure and measure from the ground to the top. England’s rule is Class A of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 2. The Planning Portal explains the same limits. A diamond you can see through still counts once it is fixed on and raises the top. The narrow strips in this set are about 0.3 m on the short side: Gardman, the KANTA three-pack, LATERN, XIANTIAN, and Toyosport. The three £59.99 screens are freestanding, with feet. Standing one in front of a fence is a different object from screwing a strip to the top. Building regulations normally do not apply to this kind of garden fence. That is not a substitute for the height limit. A lawful development certificate is optional confirmation.

One metre by a road, two metres elsewhere

In England, Class A says a means of enclosure must not exceed 1 metre above ground next to a highway used by vehicles, or 2 metres elsewhere. You must not raise an enclosure above those caps, and you must not raise a fence that is already over the limit. The Planning Portal includes the footpath beside that highway in the 1 metre case. A back garden away from the road is the 2 metre case. Listed-building curtilage sits outside this right. Wales uses the same numbers. GOV.WALES says you need an application over 1 metre next to a highway used by vehicles, or over 2 metres elsewhere. You may alter an existing fence if you do not increase its height. Scotland, on mygov.scot, allows 2 metres, or 1 metre toward a road, and restricts this class in conservation areas and listed curtilage. Northern Ireland is not set by those three instruments, so check it locally. Measure to the top of the trellis, including any cap.
Gardman Gardman 07250, 1.8 x 0.3 m

Testsieger

Gardman Gardman 07250, 1.8 x 0.3 m
9.2/10about £7.14
View offer

A 30 cm strip on a 1.8 m fence

A fence about 1.8 m high, often sold as 6 ft, plus a strip whose short side is 0.3 m, lands at about 2.1 m. That is over the 2 metre line in England away from a road, over the Welsh 2 metre line, and over Scotland’s 2 metre allowance. Beside a road the cap is 1 metre, so a front-fence topper fails earlier. Posts and caps count on the tape. If the fence is already at 2 metres, you keep that former height. An open lattice is not a way around the increase. If the fence is 1.5 m and a 0.3 m strip would finish at 1.8 m, away from a road in England or Wales, you are inside the 2 metre figure only if no other restriction applies. Buy the strip after that measurement. Shapes are in the wooden trellis buying guide.

Listed buildings, conservation areas, and when to ask

Listed-building curtilage is outside the English Class A right. Scotland also restricts the class in conservation areas and listed curtilage. An Article 4 direction, or a condition on an earlier permission, can remove the right even when the national figures would allow the height. Ask the local planning authority before you order a topper in those cases. A party fence wall, in the Planning Portal’s wording, can mean telling the neighbour. An ordinary panel fence is not automatically that procedure. A shared fence still needs the owner’s agreement. Once the top is lawful and you may fix the fence, battens and pilot holes are on how to fit a wooden trellis. If the new top would cross the line, the house is listed, or you cannot tell who owns the boundary, stop and ask. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

Common questions

Does an open trellis count toward fence height?
Yes. England’s Class A limit applies to a gate, fence, wall, or other means of enclosure. A lattice that raises that enclosure counts from the ground to the top of the trellis. Seeing through the diamonds does not remove it. Use the same measuring point in Wales and Scotland.
What is the limit in a back garden in England?
Away from a highway used by vehicles, the Class A cap is 2 metres above ground. You may not raise a fence that is already taller, and the right does not apply in listed-building curtilage. A 2.1 m top is over that line.
What changes beside a road?
Next to a highway used by vehicles, England’s cap is 1 metre, including the footpath beside it on the Planning Portal’s account. Wales uses 1 metre next to a highway used by vehicles. Scotland uses 1 metre toward a road.
Is Scotland the same wording?
mygov.scot allows 2 metres, or 1 metre toward a road, and restricts the class in conservation areas and listed curtilage. Wales states the 1 metre and 2 metre thresholds on GOV.WALES.
Can you add trellis to a fence that is already 2 metres?
You may keep an existing fence at its old height. You may not raise it. In England that bar is in Class A. In Wales you may alter a fence if the height stays the same. A 30 cm strip on a 2 metre fence finishes near 2.3 m. That increase needs the planning authority.
Which of these products is even a topper?
The narrow strips of about 0.3 m on the short side: Gardman, the KANTA three-pack, LATERN, XIANTIAN, and Toyosport. The £59.99 Nisorpa and tonchean screens stand on their own feet. They are not a strip for the top of a panel fence.

Related pages

Wood trellis

Best wooden trellis: a stated strip, not the stars

Wooden trellis buying guide: strip, screen, or pot

Wooden trellis for pots: indoor stakes, not strips

How to fit a wooden trellis with a gap and battens

Sources

Public UK sources checked for this comparison, plus the amazon.co.uk listing facts in the display file on 15 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are those UK figures. They can change.

  1. England Class A fences, gates and walls (GPDO 2015) (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. Planning Portal: fences, gates and garden walls (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. GOV.WALES: planning permission for fences, gates and garden walls (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. mygov.scot: building a fence or wall (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. RHS: training climbers on planting (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. RHS: growing clematis (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. W. Burton: diamond trellis, a merchant panel rather than an amazon price (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. E H Smith: Use Class 3 treated feather-edge board (retrieved 15 October 2026)