International pianist John Briggs says he will defy an order to pull down a four-metre high fence around his East Morton home.

Planners claim it is garish and out of character.

And councillors on Keighley town and country planning sub-committee yesterday refused to grant him planning permission for the 50 metre-long structure, after they visited his house in Little Lane.

His neighbours claim the tennis court-type fence destroyed the outlook from the rear of their homes.

But Mr Briggs, 50, who plays 150 concerts a year, objects to the Freedom Mills development at the rear of his house which overlooks his property.

He said he had constructed an open-style fence - some of which has been up since last autumn - so that plants could be grown up against it, which would provide a better outlook for himself and his neighbours.

And today he said: "I am to appeal. The planners can't see we are the injured party.

"We can't restore our privacy but I don't want to sit in my garden and have people peering at me from what looks to me like a prison block."

He added: "Even I can't make the plants grow in three minutes. I didn't want a brick wall or wooden fence because I wanted something nice for both me and my neighbours to look at eventually.

"I did give this a lot of consideration and the fence was built professionally."

Planning sub-committee chairman Councillor John Cope said: "Mr Briggs has every right to appeal against the decision.

"The committee thought the fence was inappropriate in that locality. It's the sort of fence you would find in an industrial area."

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