Garden nuisances

What constitutes a high hedge?

• the hedge is growing on land owned by someone else.
• the hedge is more than 2 metres tall.
• the hedge is made up of 2 or more evergreen or semi-evergreen trees or shrubs (so that they are in leaf all year round).
• the hedge is obstructing light to your garden or to windows of your house (main dwelling).

When and how to complain

• residents should not complain to the council in the first instance. They must start by attempting to resolve the problem amicably with their neighbour. guidance on how to approach your neighbour can be found on GOV.UK.
• the Council will not be able to consider your complaint unless you are able to provide written evidence that you and your neighbour have reached an impasse on the matter, where the owner of the hedge is unwilling to undertake or to permit any work to be undertaken to lower the height of the hedge. It is only then that the Council are able to become involved under the parameters of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.
• once the Council have agreed to consider your complaint, you will be provided with an application form to complete and return and will need to pay a fee in order to progress further. This fee is non-refundable; you will not be reimbursed whether your complaint is upheld or not.

What we will do

• once the council have received payment they will undertake an investigation of the matter including asking your neighbour to set out their case, visiting the site to review the problem in person and undertaking a number of measurements and calculations.
• if the officer concludes that action is needed they will serve a formal notice upon the hedge owner which will require them to cut the hedge to a specific height and keep the hedge trimmed to this height in the future.

What we can't do

• the High Hedge Legislation does not apply to individual trees; in which instance there is no legal right to light. Neither does it apply to Bamboo as this is considered to be a form of grass.
• the Legislation does not apply to a deciduous Hedge (that has no leaves in the winter months).
• although one of the parameters to qualify for consideration under the Legislation is that the hedge is taller than 2m, this does not mean that all hedges must be kept to less than 2m in height or that the Council will require any hedge to be reduced to 2m.
• the legislation does not grant the Council power to require the hedge owner to cut back the sides or face of the hedge if it is overhanging your boundary. This is instead covered by your rights under the Common Law.
• the legislation cannot require such a reduction of height that it would cause the death, destruction or removal of the hedge or a significant impact upon its health that would be likely to lead to the same outcome.
• under the legislation, the Council cannot consider other matters such as the examples below which comprise a common but non-exhaustive list:
  • 1. disagreements or opinions regarding neighbours. If a complaint is considered to be vexatious in nature this may provide cause for the Council to decline further involvement.
  • 2. whether you consider the hedge to be unsightly, to exacerbate health symptoms that you may suffer with, to be a fire risk, to be causing issues of subsidence or damage to your property, to host birds or other animals including vermin that present you with issues as a neighbour. If your complaint is made on such grounds this may provide cause for the Council to decline further involvement.