Hedge and fence issues?

tiredoflife

I have lived in my house for 13 years, our neighbours around 8 years.

We have a 70ft garden with a hedge that runs along our gardens. Its about 2m high and we have never had any issues with it and maintain it well. Fast forward to last night and the neighbour comes over to say on Monday he has men and diggers coming over to take down the entire hedge! He isn't going to put a fence up, but we can if we want. He has two bull dogs, I have a 2 year old daughter, and potentially and open plan garden. He clearly thinks this is OK. I'm shocked at his total lack of respect for us.

Questions are, the hedge appears to be on his land, but I don't know if this means it is on his boundary? Any way I can check easily?

Can they just cut down such a massive hedge? Do the council need to be informed?

Can he refuse to not put a fence up? Surely his dogs cant just come into our garden? The combination of dog poo and a toddler fills be with horror.

Any advice gratefully received.

GwylimT

He can remove any parts of the hedge on his land. I don't think hedges have the equivalent of TPOs, but best to double check.

As an animal owner its his responsibility to ensure his dog doesn't access your land, that doesn't however require a fence.

tiredoflife

Thanks for the quick reply. Looks like we are stuffed then. I'm tempted to call the council to see if it can be classed as protected as the bees use it, but guessing they'll tell me to pee off!

Can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to put a fence up between their gardens, but suspect he cant be bothered/hasn't got the money to put up a fence. He has a half finished house extension which has been going on for a year now. You'd think he'd prioritise that, not the garden he never uses, but whatever.

Time to get some fencing quotes and invest in some rather big conifers....

silvercar

Warn him that your garden has open access to the front, so any straying dogs could escape easily.

Davesnave

If the hedge is on the neighbour's land, he can remove it and there is no requirement for him to erect a fence in its place.

I doubt if the neighbour wants to lose his dogs, so if it were me, I'd look for ways to ensure he did. Then, erecting a dog proof boundary might become of more importance to him. This might mean some temporary inconvenience for a time, but I don't think it would take long to call his bluff.

tiredoflife

Yes, we have had issues with his dogs before. We used to leave our patio doors open on warm days and often found their dogs in our kitchen! There was a hole in the hedge and they were quite small then. Of course, they didn't appologise. I refuse to be terrorised by dogs in my own home, especially now I have a child toddling about.

I think he is just doing it for the sake of it to be honest. I'm trying not to rise to it and is arrogance. It's a beautiful hedge which enhances the garden in my opinion.

Davesnave

I had a similar issue, but we're rural, and it was with sheep.

I warned my neighbour farmer I was planting laurel, lethal to sheep, did so, and his new stock fence went in very quickly....;)

If the dogs are found running loose a few times, he will probably take some sort of action to contain them., but it may not be the sort of fence you might choose.

Mrs_Imp

I know it may take a while to grow back, but can you plant your own hedge on your side?

freezspirit

https://www.gov.uk/control-dog-public

https://www.gov.uk/get-your-dog-microchipped

https://www.gov.uk/how-to-resolve-neighbour-disputes

some help information, neighbour can be fined if not controlling his dogs and if not microchipped.

I'm sure somewhere there's something about boundaries have to be clearly marked but that could be 2 poles and a wires.

tiredoflife

Thanks for the info.
We heard them in the garden last night laughing about it and saying how annoyed we are with them. It's almost like they are doing it out of spite. My husband has just been made redundant so funds for a fence are the last thing we want to spend out on.
The timing is awful for our family and the fact that it's the height of summer and our daughter can't go and play in the garden is really upsetting me. It's like they have absolutely no respect for us as a family. What on earth is my little girl going to think when she sees big diggers in her garden on Monday morning.
Complete !!!!!!.

moneyistooshorttomention

Personally - then they would overhear me in my garden commenting clearly about things like getting police involved/compensation for injury/etc if my child got injured.

Or - I'd tell them directly more likely. Start by telling them verbally, quickly followed up by a letter (copy kept) so that I had proof of their "date of knowledge" of the risk of my child getting injured by their dogs. I would spell out to them quite clearly about the whole concept of "date of knowledge" and consequent compensation claim if they indirectly injured my child.

But I'm someone that responded to trespassing and intimidation with clearly spelling out how the law stood. It worked.