I'm devastated, any advice please ?

meer53

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3158024944174&set=a.1146765703950.23601.1071778131&type=1&ref=nf

My hedge. Any comments ?

lolly5648

meer53 wrote: »

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3158024944174&set=a.1146765703950.23601.1071778131&type=1&ref=nf

My hedge. Any comments ?

I couldn't see the page, just got a message:

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System

i think you need to check your privacy settings.

culpepper

Not that I am saying they were not in the wrong but hedges create shade also and if yours is the garden that the shade falls across, it can be like living in a tunnel.
There isn't much can grow in full shade and gardens are cold where it is shaded long term so maybe privacy is not the only aspect to look at.

valk_scot

I'm asking myself if the hedge was cut so low because that was as far up as the husband could reach without a proper ladder? Maybe he arrived to take the top foot off and it was far out his reach, so he just cut at a level he could access. Folk do that sort of thing, especially if they're at the end of a chain of nagging instructions relayed via the wife from the MIL. Not that this is an excuse in any way of course. I know the reason my hedges are cut at 1.50m high is because that's what I can reach easily, period.

Davesnave

valk_scot wrote: »

Folk do that sort of thing, especially if they're at the end of a chain of nagging instructions relayed via the wife from the MIL.

Does anyone know if there's an forum equivalent of Godwin's Law for MILs?

To pin the possible blame on MIL in only 26 posts is pretty good going! Love it! :rotfl:

Blackjack_Davy

meer53 wrote: »

I'm going to take a photo later for my records, i'll try to post it if i can. You'll see why i say there is no way the hedge will recover.

photo is unavailable, upload it to photobucket or imageshack and post a link here instead

if it's a conifer, and I'm guessing leylandii, then it won't regrow. Conifers do not have dormant growth buds under the bark unlike deciduous plants, if it's cut back to bare wood, it's top is dead basically (it'll continue to grow outwards from the sides but it won't grow from the top. There will be occasional bits that grow through from below, but to all intents and purposes it's ruined)

If you have to replant I would send them the bill of grubbing up and replanting and taking them to court if they refuse, with a report from the police of criminal damage you'll win easily, if they still refuse to pay you'll need to get a high court writ served against them and then you can call in the sheriffs to claim the money and/or seize goods to the value of the debt plus costs.

Falling out with the neighbours is not nice, but by the sound of it they don't want to play nice anyhow.

Lotus-eater

Although obviously what the neighbour has done is wrong. A big 10 foot high hedge is not very far from a house when it is only 5 metres away. It doesn't matter if their lounge is at the front, something is at the back.

I wouldn't like to live like that, I can tell you.

Davesnave

Blackjack_Davy wrote: »

photo is unavailable, upload it to photobucket or imageshack and post a link here instead

if it's a conifer, and I'm guessing leylandii, then it won't regrow. Conifers do not have dormant growth buds under the bark unlike deciduous plants, if it's cut back to bare wood, it's top is dead basically (it'll continue to grow outwards from the sides but it won't grow from the top. There will be occasional bits that grow through from below, but to all intents and purposes it's ruined)

If you have to replant I would send them the bill of grubbing up and replanting and taking them to court if they refuse, with a report from the police of criminal damage you'll win easily, if they still refuse to pay you'll need to get a high court writ served against them and then you can call in the sheriffs to claim the money and/or seize goods to the value of the debt plus costs.

Falling out with the neighbours is not nice, but by the sound of it they don't want to play nice anyhow.

I'm not convinced. My neighbour had about 5' lopped off his over-tall leylandii and they grew back. I've topped out shorter specimens and they've re-grown too. I agree that once there's no green showing, as with extreme shading from a fence, then there is no chance of there ever being any, but that's different.

As for taking the legal route, that could take years and a considerable outlay, which is great for lawyers, but not for most people's pockets, or their mental health. Anyone who thinks otherwise probably hasn't gone to law. It is, indeed, 'not nice.'

marleyboy

As for taking the legal route, that could take years and a considerable outlay, which is great for lawyers, but not for most people's pockets, or their mental health. Anyone who thinks otherwise probably hasn't gone to law. It is, indeed, 'not nice.'

Not being nice is not really a criminal offence, I am not sure by breaking the law, using such a defence as "well if i had gone the legal route it might have taken Years your honour.", is really going to help them with their case. Anyone who does think otherwise, or that it can be justified in ignoring the law, certainly has little if any experience with what is law.