House Border Hedge being removed

Adrew_2

Hello to MSE's..I am wanting advice from the domestic legal eagles amongst you...Myself and my elderly neighbour lived side by side in reasonable harmony for 20 yrs plus...there is a mature well groomed (mostly our side) hedge between us on our left hand side, about 60-70 feet - maybe more long, planted on her part of the border.... Sadly last year she died and naturally relatives sold off the house.
The new neighbour arrived and understandably removating the house, but this is going to include the complete removal of the hedge between us (not trimming or hard pruning) leaving us without any privacy from the new neighbour or the rest of the street etc.....the new neighbours first greeting was 'you might feel a bit naked for a while but i am taking all this dowm' meaning the hedge. No 'do you mind' or polite asking or any sort of compromise...she has already removed a chunk of it...although the hedge is on the neighbours part, it formed a natural privacy screen for 20 years and I am quite unhappy to see it go, however the new neighbour can be quite a rude and beligerant person , and difficult to reason with. Any one with any suitable advice appreciated...

Sandoval

Put up a fence on your side of the boundary? Perhaps one that you can grow climbing plants up if you wish.

To be honest if the hedge is on their side of the boundary there's nothing you can do about it any more than they can about what you chose to do/not do with things in your own garden.

Adrew_2

yes thanks..thought about that.... although it will cost best part of a grand though

Googlewhacker

Adrew wrote: »

yes thanks..thought about that.... although it will cost best part of a grand though

if the hedge is on her side of the land that is not her responsibility I'm afraid

mountainofdebt

tbh I can understand why she is getting rid of the hedge.....my mum had one and it was a pain keeping it neat and tidy and perhaps the new owner feels that she wants something that is more time v maintenance friendly.

As already been said, if new neighbour is responsible for the boundary then there is little you can do. Perhaps a friendly enquiry as to whats going up in its place may put your mind at ease

Foggster

Adrew wrote: »

yes thanks..thought about that.... although it will cost best part of a grand though

That is alot of money - how long is this particular length of border?

It might be worth going back to your deeds and see if there is anything on there about the fence line. Ours clearly states we are responsible for the boundary on the left (when standing at the back of the property) and that there has to be a minimum of a 6ft solid fence.

I am another one who isnt particularly keen on boundary hedges, high maintenance - could be a blessing in disguise OP.

Coopdivi

Get some leylandii planted. They grow a metre every year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyland_Cypress

pinkshoes

Adrew wrote: »

yes thanks..thought about that.... although it will cost best part of a grand though

What is your privacy worth? £1k isn't too much to pay for 10+ years of privacy, plus you can always paint their side a hideous colour!! It would be your fence, after all...

(always best to try and get on with your neighbours though!)

cyberbob

Adrew wrote: »

yes thanks..thought about that.... although it will cost best part of a grand though

You could get it a lot cheaper than that. You can get 6 by 5 ft fence panels from wickes for £16 i'll round it up to 20 to take into account anything else, If your boundary is 70 ft long that's £280 add say 14 fence posts that's another £140 so subtotal of £420. If labour charge is say £20 and hour and a days work (7 hours) £140 that's a total of £560.

So if you've been quotes £1000 you need to shop around.

AsknAnswer2

Adrew wrote: »

'you might feel a bit naked for a while

(my emphasis).
The wording "for a while" would indicate to me that she means exactly that. That "for a while" you might feel naked...

Could it be that your neighbour, whilst taking down the hedge intends putting something up in its place once it is removed? Something which requires no maintenence? A fence perhaps?

Might be worth trying to find that out, though I understand that may prove difficult, given that you say she is difficult to reason with. Have you tried reasoning? Asking if she intends replacing the hedge with something else?

I say this not to be impolite but to be frank: seeing as the hedge appears to be on her property, she didn't have any obligation to ask whether you minded, or reach a compromise - she wasn't even required to tell you of her plans.

Elsewhere

Probably unlikely at this time of year, but if there are birds nesting in the hedge I think it is against the law to disturb them until the young have flown.