High Hedge

Hawaiilady76

I have had an ongoing problem with my neighbour for years about his high hedge, made up of about 5 leylandaii. He will NOT reduce them even though he has had to repair my fence 3 times due to the damage they have caused.  I have had to take out my flower beds and have paved under the trees as nothing grows there, but the trees have now extended beyond the area that I paved, killing the grass. The trees spread is approx 12 feet into my garden. They are approximately 50 feet high. They are approximately 40 feet from my house, so not depriving my home of light, but they certainly cast a shadow over most of my garden from about 1pm. I am now in the process of considering getting the council involved.  I have written to him asking him to address the problem but he is ignoring me. I have attached photos and wonder if people think that an appeal to the council might succeed.  PS My neighbour on the other side has agreed to reduce and cut back their overhanging trees, which they gave up maintaining a few years ago.  

TELLIT01

This is worth reading https://www.leylandii.com/leylandii-law/  As I read it, it doesn't only cover light into property but also adverse effect on use and damage e.g. fences.  As your neighbour has refused to do anything about it, it would seem your next step is to contact you council.

olbas_oil

Cut back to fence as soon as you can. If you had done this a few years ago, they would have stayed as a  green hedge. They might be dead, brown and ugly branches now, but that's better than letting them get bigger.

RelievedSheff

I would certainly be cutting them back to the boundary line and the same goes for the trees on the other boundaries as well.

[Deleted User]

Me too @RelievedSheff
My patience would have worn out years ago, OP.
I'd be posting a letter through that neighbours door to say i have booked tree surgeon to come at the weekend and will be sending the bill to them. 
Okay, they'll probably not respond but it shows them your mindset !

TELLIT01

I don't know what the situation will be if the OP does cut these monsters back to the boundary and that destabilises the trees.  They will have much more weight on the neighbours side.  Would the OP be liable if the trees then fell?

scottiescott

I was once told copper nails are very useful.
Just saying.

olbas_oil

TELLIT01 said:

I don't know what the situation will be if the OP does cut these monsters back to the boundary and that destabilises the trees.  They will have much more weight on the neighbours side.  Would the OP be liable if the trees then fell?

If the tree fell, while OP was cutting back to the fence, then possibly he would be in trouble. But once the deed has been done, it is up to the neighbour to establish that the trees are safe, and take action if not. Either way, if OP employs a tree surgeon, they will ensure all is done safely.
From the photos, it looks as though OP was in the habit of trimming, until the branches were so high they could not be reached. I wonder how a tree surgeon would approach this, if the neighbour denies access to their land. Possibly a cherry picker?

melb

even if the OP had trimmed to the boundary it would not have made any difference to the amount of shade on that side as they would still be same height on the neighbour's side.  Virtually the whole garden is in shade and she has my total sympathy.

Hawaiilady76

olbas_oil said:

Cut back to fence as soon as you can. If you had done this a few years ago, they would have stayed as a  green hedge. They might be dead, brown and ugly branches now, but that's better than letting them get bigger.

Thanks, but it doesnt solve the problem really... My garden has very little sunlight to it and I wonder if I am entitled to not have my garden in the shade.. I cannot talk to the neighbour. He has been an absolute nightmare since he moved in 16 years ago. I have had to have the police out, the ASBO, the noise abatement team. I have asked and written to him repeatedly to ask him to solve this high hedge problem, but he knows it bothers me and that gives him a great deal of pleasure... I am a widow so have had to deal with all this myself and I have been told that his culture means he wont listen to a woman. I have thought about depriving him of his privacy by taking some of  my fence panels out as I know that would bother him, but I would also lose my privacy. My neighbour on the other side, gave up maintaining their hedge/trees too.. I have spoken to them about this and a tree surgeon came out to look at the problem and is coming back to rectify their problem. I am in a bit of despair about all this and wonder if I should just try to live with it, but its difficult

Hawaiilady76

olbas_oil said:

TELLIT01 said:

I don't know what the situation will be if the OP does cut these monsters back to the boundary and that destabilises the trees.  They will have much more weight on the neighbours side.  Would the OP be liable if the trees then fell?

If the tree fell, while OP was cutting back to the fence, then possibly he would be in trouble. But once the deed has been done, it is up to the neighbour to establish that the trees are safe, and take action if not. Either way, if OP employs a tree surgeon, they will ensure all is done safely.
From the photos, it looks as though OP was in the habit of trimming, until the branches were so high they could not be reached. I wonder how a tree surgeon would approach this, if the neighbour denies access to their land. Possibly a cherry picker?

olbas_oil said:

TELLIT01 said:

I don't know what the situation will be if the OP does cut these monsters back to the boundary and that destabilises the trees.  They will have much more weight on the neighbours side.  Would the OP be liable if the trees then fell?

If the tree fell, while OP was cutting back to the fence, then possibly he would be in trouble. But once the deed has been done, it is up to the neighbour to establish that the trees are safe, and take action if not. Either way, if OP employs a tree surgeon, they will ensure all is done safely.
From the photos, it looks as though OP was in the habit of trimming, until the branches were so high they could not be reached. I wonder how a tree surgeon would approach this, if the neighbour denies access to their land. Possibly a cherry picker?

Yes, I was cutting the overhang  for years. But as you say and see they are now too high for me to do this safely.. I am no spring chicken and dont want to risk injuring myself.  I have just been made redundant and not sure that I have the resources for a tree surgeon but could afford the £350 that the council would charge for taking a look, but of course, I have no guarantee that the council will agree with me about the impact it is having on my enjoyment of my garden.