A PRIVACY screen put up at a home in Leigh Old Town Conservation Area must be removed, councillors have ruled.

Southend Council’s development control committee ordered the owners of 19 High Street to remove a wooden screen from a first floor balcony of the end-of-terrace home.

The council previously ordered the removal of the 3.3-metre wide and 1.8-metre high screen after receiving a complaint in 2022.

A retrospective application was refused last year and an amended proposal was also refused in July.

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A site visit was carried out by officers in September and the screen remained unchanged.

A report to the committee, which met on Wednesday, said: “The development was found to be unacceptable in terms of its impact on the character and appearance of the site and the wider area, including the significance of the conservation area.

“The timber privacy screen, by reason of its scale, location, materials and detailed design, is considered to be detrimental to the historic character and significance of the existing property and the wider Leigh Old Town Conservation Area.”

At the meeting, Carole Mulroney, Lib Dem councillor for Leigh Ward, said: “I saw a comment online the other day about why we are worried about this when nobody can see it. Well clearly you can. You may not be able to see it from the High Street but you can see it from Alley Dock and you can see it from the sea.

“This is a conservation area and it’s very important that we keep the character.

“Those buildings are over 100 years old and it certainly sticks out like a sore thumb so I wholeheartedly support the recommendation.”