Chain Link Fence Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide

Chain link fencing remains one of the most cost-effective ways to secure a boundary in the UK. The Valuation Office Agency, which prices fences for business rates, puts 1.8m plastic-coated chain link on concrete posts at £28 a metre erected.¹

At 1.2m high the same fence is £22 a metre.¹

At the lower end, a 0.9m green PVC-coated fence with driven posts suits most garden boundaries; at the higher end, a 1.8m heavy-gauge security fence on concrete spurs suits industrial or high-traffic applications.

The VOA’s notes say its rates leave out VAT and reflect a contract of the order of £4 million, so a single garden run costs more per metre than they show.²

For a typical 20-metre garden boundary at 1.2m high, the VOA rate comes to £440, and the end straining posts are priced as an extra on top of it.¹

What you are actually quoted will vary with regional labour rates, site access, and whether existing posts or rails can be reused.

Materials by Height

Height is the single biggest driver of price. Taller fences need heavier-gauge mesh, longer posts, and more labour time to tension correctly.

Jacksons Fencing lists 25m rolls of standard green PVC-coated chain link at £73.95 for 0.9m high, £98.85 for 1.2m, £114.10 for 1.4m and £143.70 for 1.8m, all before VAT.³

Straining posts, concrete, fixings and labour are all extra. Including VAT, the mesh and line posts work out as follows. A 25m roll of 1.2m green PVC-coated chain link costs £118.62, about £4.74 a metre.³ A 25m roll of the heavier 3.15mm mesh at 1.8m costs £273.66, about £10.95 a metre.⁴ Angle iron line posts cost £19.13 for a 0.9m fence, £23.09 for 1.2m, £23.84 for 1.5m and £31.32 for 1.8m, which at one post every 2.75m adds about £7–£11 a metre.⁵

What Drives the Price

Mesh specification

Chain link mesh is sold by height, gauge (wire thickness), and aperture (diamond opening size). Standard domestic PVC-coated mesh has a 1.7mm galvanised core wire, 2.5mm thick including the coating, in a 50mm diamond.³ Heavier-gauge 3.15mm mesh, sometimes called “security specification”, is markedly harder to cut or deform.

Jacksons prices the 3.15mm mesh at £155.80 a roll at 1.2m and £228.05 at 1.8m before VAT, nearly 60% more than the standard mesh at either height.³

PVC-coating in green (RAL 6005) is the most popular finish for gardens; galvanised-only mesh suits security and commercial sites where appearance matters less.

Posts and fixings

A standard domestic run uses steel angle-iron line posts, typically at 2.75m centres, with heavier straining posts at each end and at corners. The most common approach for domestic fencing is:

• Driven steel angle posts: quickest to install, suitable for softer ground, typically 38mm × 38mm or 50mm × 50mm section
• Concrete spurs with bolted angle posts: used where post longevity is the priority, particularly on clay soils prone to movement; adds the cost of a spur and bolts at every post
• Concrete-in angle posts: posts set directly into concrete footings, common on commercial and security fences

Straining posts at corners and ends are larger section (typically 50mm × 50mm or 75mm × 75mm) and cost more per post. A standard 20m run will typically have two straining posts and seven line posts.

Jarrett Fencing lists an angle iron straining end post, with its strut and fittings, at £58.38 for a 0.9m fence, £71.32 for 1.2m, £74.52 for 1.5m and £91.51 for 1.8m, including VAT.⁶

Labour

Labour is the part no merchant lists. Chain link installation is usually a two-person job for efficiency, one to tension the mesh, one to fix and adjust. An experienced team can install 30–50 linear metres per day on straightforward ground. Contractors price labour per job after a site visit, so ask for it as a separate line on the quote, and check whether it covers breaking out old fencing, disposal of spoil, or remediation of particularly difficult ground. It usually does not.

Ground conditions

Hard or rocky ground that requires breaking out before post installation adds significant cost. Clay soils may require concrete haunching around posts to prevent frost heave. On sloping sites, the contractor must either step or rake the fence, both of which add time. Always confirm with your installer how they handle slopes before accepting a fixed-price quote.

Worked Example: Materials for a 20m Garden Boundary at 1.2m High

This is the most common domestic scenario, a rear garden boundary replacing old timber panel or wire fencing. With line posts at 2.75m centres, a 20m run takes one 25m roll of mesh, seven line posts and a straining post at each end. All the prices here include VAT.

The mesh is £118.62 for the roll.³

Seven line posts at £23.09 each come to £161.63.⁵

Two end straining posts with struts, at £71.32 each, come to £142.64.⁶

Blue Circle Postcrete, for setting the posts, is £7.50 for a 20 kg bag at Wickes.⁷

Galvanised tying wire is £11.45 at Jarrett Fencing.⁸

So the mesh and posts come to £422.89 before concrete, wire and labour. A sloping site or concrete haunching throughout adds to both the materials and the time. We give no labour figure here because we have not found a contractor’s published rate for chain link that we would stand behind; get it quoted.

Planning and Permitted Development Rules

Chain link fencing is generally straightforward from a planning perspective, but height limits are set by permitted development rights and must be respected unless you have planning permission.

Key height limits under permitted development:

• Adjacent to a highway used by vehicular traffic (including the footway alongside such a road): maximum 1 metre. This applies to front garden boundaries and side boundaries where the fence runs alongside a road; a public footpath carrying no vehicles does not bring the lower limit into play.⁹
• Elsewhere (rear gardens, fields, commercial land not adjacent to a vehicular highway): maximum 2 metres.⁹

Permitted development does not cover a fence within the curtilage of a listed building, or one surrounding it, so that needs planning permission at any height.⁹

If you want to exceed these heights, for example, a 2.4m security fence on a rear boundary, you will need to apply for planning permission. The council’s statutory determination period for an application that is not major development is 8 weeks from the day after it is received, unless you agree an extension in writing.¹⁰ A planning fee is payable: in England from 1 April 2026 it is £272 for putting up a fence, wall or gate along the boundary of a house.¹¹¹²

Check the legal boundary

Before instructing any fencing work, confirm the exact position of your legal boundary. Fencing even a few centimetres onto a neighbour’s land can create significant legal problems. Your title deeds and Land Registry title plan should show the boundary, though these are not always precise to the centimetre.

There is no general requirement to notify neighbours before erecting a fence within permitted development height limits, but it is good practice, particularly where the fence will affect their light or access.

Chain Link vs Alternative Fencing Types

Chain link is not the only option at this price point. On the VOA’s rates, a 1.8m interwoven panel fence on timber posts is £64 a metre, more than twice the chain link rate above.¹

A 1.8m close-boarded fence on concrete posts is £95 a metre.¹

The table below compares chain link against the two most common domestic alternatives on everything but price.

Chain link usually wins on cost, longevity, and maintenance. It loses on privacy, which is why many homeowners combine it with hedging, a native mixed hedge planted at the base establishes in 3–5 years and gives privacy without the ongoing cost of replacing timber panels.

Getting Quotes

Most fencing contractors will provide a site visit and written quote free of charge. When comparing quotes, check:

• Whether the price includes removal and disposal of existing fencing
• The post specification (driven angle iron vs concrete-in vs spurs)
• Mesh gauge and aperture size
• Whether VAT is included (many smaller fencing contractors are not VAT-registered)
• Payment terms, a small deposit (10–25%) is reasonable; avoid contractors asking for full payment upfront

For a 20–30 metre run, obtaining three quotes is straightforward and typically reveals a meaningful spread. The Association of Fencing Industries (AFI), the UK fencing trade body, has a searchable directory of member contractors.¹³