Aussie neighbourhood at loggerheads over man's 5.65-metre fence
Ali admits he got very bored during the recent long Sydney COVID-19 lockdown, and that boredom has got him in all sorts of strife.
"It was a COVID brain explosion," he said, as he tried to explain what went on in his backyard.
"Well, when you're sitting at home and you're not allowed to go nowhere and the neighbours are looking at you, you say 'you know what? I'm going to build a bloody wall.'"
Ali built a 5.65-metre-high fence during lockdown. A Current Affair
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Boredom, coupled with his desire for privacy, resulted in Ali building "The Great Wall of Chester Hill" at the rear of his property.
"A man needs privacy," he explained, as I looked at his 5.65-metre-high fence that is three times the height of the average suburban fence.
The problem with suburbia is neighbours are sometimes a little too close and the townhouses overlooking Ali's backyard were playing on his mind, until he had time in lockdown to come up with the idea of a dirty great big fence.
Chester Hill resident Ali. A Current Affair
Chester Hill resident Ali built a 5.65-metre-high wall. A Current Affair
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"It's like going to an art museum, you know," he said.
Ali is very proud of what he built: steel posts and frame, potted gum timber in a parquetry design, and decorative panels that light up at night.
It's not so flash on the rear with nails and wires exposed.
One of Ali's neighbours. A Current Affair
A Chester Hill resident looking at Ali's wall. A Current Affair
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"Yeah well I was going to do a nice feature on the other side as well ... but when you have d------- neighbours, then that's what happens," he said.
You guessed right - the neighbours in the Chester Hill townhouses are none too pleased.
"It's very high," one said.
"It blocks the view," another said.
But Ali is a little peeved at what all the fuss is about.
You see, there were once pine trees in the same spot, just as high in his backyard, but they were dying, so he took them out.
Pine trees that were once in the same spot that Ali's large wall is now in. A Current Affair
Ali said he built the wall because he wanted privacy. A Current Affair
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Cumberland Council has received a number of complaints and has issued notice for the structure to be pulled down within the next two weeks.
Ali has put in a belated DA but if the worse comes to the worse he said, "I'll crane it out and sell it".
Perhaps there's another Ali out there just wanting a little bit of privacy?
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