The owner of a Wellington property overlooking the harbour says taking down a fence blocking their view is like "something valuable being returned".
The four-metre-high fence was at the centre of a neighbourhood dispute in the suburb of Roseneath, which sits above the harbour, but has now been taken down following a court order.
It was estimated the view-blocking fence knocked $900,000 from the house's $1.6 million value.
An Environment Court decision in January ordered the fence to come down within a month, and while property owner Peter Aitchison is "relieved" the court found in their favour, it has taken a toll on him and his wife, Sylvia.
"At one stage we thought things weren't going for us well, and [we] had an argument regarding privacy [with neighbour Dave Walmsley] and [thought] we would have to have it there for the rest of our lives, but it didn't happen, thank goodness.
"We now have back what we thought was our most precious thing, which was our view across the harbour, the magnificent harbour. It felt as though it was stolen from us and now it's come back and it feels like something valuable being returned," he says.
Mr Aitchison, 77, says the court action has taken its toll on the couple's health and pockets.
He said it cost them "hundreds of thousands", which the couple would seek from Mr Walmsley through the courts, which he admitted would be a "huge burden" on him.
"When you consider he's a man with a young family, he has done a terrible thing to his family by imposing those costs on him by doing something which was quite unreasonable."
He believes had the Wellington City Council stepped in earlier than it did, the entire ordeal would have been stopped before it started.
The council supported the couple in the Environment Court, agreeing the fence and the play structure connected to it was "inappropriate" for the location.
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