A family ordered to take down a fence and summerhouse on their own land are challenging council claims the areas was supposed to be kept as 'open space'.
Gary Anderson and his partner Lana Cockerell spent £10,000 fencing in land at the side of their house and creating a summerhouse in the corner.
However a year after the work was carried out East Lothian Council contacted them to say they needed planning permission for the work and when they applied it was refused.
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Council planners said even though the land at the side of the house was owned by the couple it was part of an "open space" design of the larger estate.
They said the decision to leave part of the land between the rear fence of the properties and the footpath open 'softened the landscape' and moving the fence to the edge of the path 'undermined the contribution that area of open space made to the landscape".
They added: "The fence and summerhouse together with decking are inappropriate in terms of their positioning on what was an area of open public space.
"They disrupt and do not respect the design of this part of the housing estate."
Now Gary and Lana,, who live in the house in Wallyford with their three young children, are taking their case to East Lothian Council's Local Review Body asking them to overturn the decision.
In their appeal they include copies of the title deeds for the house which set out their ownership of the land.
They say: "As per our title deeds it does not state the land in question must be used as an open space.
"When purchasing the property we were not given an development plan detailing which areas of land were classed as open space throughout the development.
"The fence, as per the government website, meets the permitted development rules. In regards to the summerhouse, all structural requirements are met with the height of 2.5 metres not being exceeded and no larger than 50% of the garden."
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