PAT Dreweatt enjoys hanging out the washing in the garden of her bungalow at Williton’s Sir Gilbert Scott Court where she has lived for the past 14 years: “That’s what I’ve always done, and I can’t afford to put everything in the tumble dryer,” she said.

But now her washing, fluttering on a rotary clothes line, has sparked off a major planning row after two fencing panels – put up to hide her laundry after complaints from neighbours – have been ordered to be removed by district council planners. They claim they are “obtrusive, unsympathetic, out of character and harmful” to the nearby Grade Two listed buildings.

“People had moaned about my washing so my landlord put up a fence which cost him a lot of money. The council told him he could put a fence up and now they’re telling it’s got to come down. The whole thing is completely out of control. But I’m certainly not going to stop hanging out my washing,” Pat said.

Sir Gilbert Scott Court is a former workhouse and hospital which was converted into flats in 2004 and has period-style flats and bungalows in its grounds.

Graham Phippon, of SEG Properties Ltd, who own 21 properties on the site, said the two wooden panels were put in place to hide the clothes-line after someone had complained to Pat about washing being dried in her garden.

“Then someone complained about the panels and so we applied for planning permission to make it all legal. Now we have been told by the district council planners that permission has been refused and we must take them down.

“It’s ridiculous when planning is supposed to have been made easier that we are not allowed to put up two small panels to hide a lady’s washing.

“The whole thing has cost me at least £1,500 and I was just trying to help out. This is bureaucracy gone crazy.”

When Graham applied for planning permission for the panels, Williton Parish Council recommended that it be rejected to safeguard the setting of the listed building and to prevent fences becoming a dominating feature.

“Even though this is a relatively short section of fence, if this was repeated along the rest of the properties, this could have a cumulative adverse effect,” the council said.

In a report, Somerset West and Taunton Council planning officer Sarah Wilshire said the fence was contrary to the West Somerset Local Plan and recommended that it be removed within four months.

“The council has worked in a positive and proactive way with the applicant and has looked for solutions to enable the grant of planning permission. However, in this case the applicant was unable to satisfy the key policy test and as such the application has been refused,” she said.

She added: “Although partly screened, the height, materials and density of the fencing are intrusive, unsympathetic and out-of-character with the hedging and low stone-walling. It is considered that it has a harsh visual impact within the street scene.”

Pat said: “Once the panels are removed, presumably people will start making more complaints about my washing. But I can’t help that. The rotary line is quite small, folds up when not in use, and I take the clothes in as soon as they are dry.

“You’d think that with the present state of the world, people would have more important things to worry about.”