Do I have to cut down my hedge?

soomagoo

Hi,

Hoping someone can offer some advice! We have a lovely established bay hedge that stops us staring at the side wall of our neighbour's garage - however, our neighbour claims there is an issue with the pointing at the base of said wall and has asked us to cut down the 5 foot hedge so she can take a look.

Does she have the right to do this? If she succeeds in making us get rid of the hedge does she have any responsibility to replace it? We don't really want to pay for new hedges or have a plain brick wall to look at out of our windows

Any thoughts appreciated!
Thanks
Sue.

anotherbaldrick

Providing the hedge is totally on your land , No. tell her to get an experienced surveyor in to inspect her wall without horticultural damage. Also get a quote from a local landscape gardener for cutting the shrubs down and then replacing them with 6ft established new stock, you can then give her the quote and tell her that this is what it will cost her UP FRONT !

soomagoo

So it's acceptable to expect her to replace the hedges if it's deemed they need to come down? Thanks!

anotherbaldrick

soomagoo wrote: »

So it's acceptable to expect her to replace the hedges if it's deemed they need to come down? Thanks!

Yup ! and "Deemed" is more than a whim on her part to have a look at the wall !

soomagoo

Fab, thanks so much for replying

jamesd

Just in case you wondered, her concern is serious. It's possible that the hedges are causing bridging of the damp-proof course not just a basic pointing issue and this could end up causing serious damage to her property.

Still doesn't mean the hedge has to come down just to have a look. Just that if there is damage being caused due to water ingress as a result of the hedge it'll be best to help her get it fixed rather than trying to fight it.

mttylad

And fixing it can be done WITHOUT removal of the hedge.

by the way, do you know which came first? hedge or wall?

southcoastrgi

a hedge won't cause bridging of the DPC unless the hedge or the roots have grown through it, or it is hard up against her wall keeping it constantly wet

jamesd

Or something like soil covering it, without the person involved with the soil realising what they were doing. I've seen a keen gardener cause damp in their own house that way, with a very low wall offset from the main wall the solution.

Stooby2

It may just need pruning back on her side, if as Southcoast says, it's grown hard up against her wall.

mttylad

So which came first, wall or hedge?