Peter Aitchison, speaking in October 2015, about the fence, built by a neighbour, which blocked sweeping views of Wellington Harbour and the city from his and wife Sylvia's Roseneath apartment.

It's taken a year, and about half a million dollars, but Peter and Sylvia Aitchison have their view back.

The Wellington couple whose stunning harbour view was blocked by a neighbour's fence say they have their life back after the four-metre-high structure started to come down over the weekend.

And while a couple of wooden posts still remain, it seems work dismantling the structure will soon be finished.

CAMERON BURNELL/STUFF The Aitchison's million-dollar Roseneath view returns to its former glory as the fence blocking it comes down following a court order.

Speaking from "exile" in Auckland, Peter Aitchison said the couple had been "escaping Wellington" to their house in Taupo to avoid the stress of legal wrangling, plus the walled-in, claustrophobic feel of their $1.6 million apartment in the suburb of Roseneath.

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"We're relieved to have our life back, we've been escaping Wellington. It's been very debilitating – especially on my wife.

MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ Peter Aitchison rues the loss of his view, which was blocked by a neighbour's fence. The neighbour has complied with an Environment Court order, and has taken most of the fence down.

"Sylvia could only stand it for a couple of days and then she'd get highly stressed," Aitchison said.

On being shown a photo of the big reveal Aitchison said it was "absolutely fantastic...it's like your most valuable possession has been stolen and been returned back to you".

Last month neighbour David Walmsley, who built the structure he called a children's fort, withdrew an appeal he filed with the High Court over an Environment Court decision saying it was built on the wrong level.

But despite Walmsley raising the white flag, Wellington City Council has asked to continue the appeal because the precedent set by the Environment Court could impact other hilly properties across the capital.

The Aitchisons complained to the Environment Court in 2015 that the structure was not permitted under the council's district plan because of the ground level it was built on.

The Environment Court agreed.

However the council, which was involved in the appeal as an interested party, asked Justice Rebecca Ellis on Friday to allow them to continue the appeal.

The judge reserved her decision.

Aitchison said battling Walmsley had cost "well into six figures" and although the couple were relieved and were set to return to the capital, they were concerned the matter might not yet be over.

"If we were little old pensioners with no money we would have rolled over, but luckily we've had the fortitude."

The Aitchison's would continue to consult with their legal team about pursuing costs.

Walmsley could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

But in January he told the Environment Court his aim was privacy and, if what he was doing was reasonable on his own property, he did not have to have regard for his neighbours.

Last week the Aitchison's lawyer Morgan Slyfield said there was no public interest in continuing to drag the fence issue through the courts.

But Warren Ulusele, WCC city planning and design manager, said there was plenty of public interest in continuing the case because the court action to date had effectively set precedents that could affect property owners across Wellington.

The bigger issue at stake now was that the council and the Environment Court had differing opinions on how the district plan should be interpreted when it came to rules governing how high structures could be built in relation to boundaries.

This left the Aitchisons worried that if the council was to win its appeal there was the possibility the rules could revert and Walmsley might rebuild the fence.

"If everyone sticks with the rule change it's going to be good for anyone who lives on a sloping section in Wellington," Aitchison said on Sunday.

He said the couple had tried to mitigate the privacy issue in the past by putting forward the ideas of a vined gazebo or an angled steel screen, but nothing was acceptable to Walmsley.

"He was trying to get total isolation, which is impossible on a Wellington hillside section, you can't close it off completely."

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