Tall hedges

Kim_kim

My back garden faces west.  

Looking down the garden the neighbours to the left own the fence & it’s a hedge.  They’ve only lived there a couple of years, it’s always been tall, it’s got to be between 8-9 foot.  It’s about 100 foot long.  

As the sun is that side it casts a huge shadow over my long narrow garden for much of the day.

if it were your house, would you think the neighbour would be cheeky asking you cut it down to 6 foot? 

Emmia

Are you proposing to pay for the trim? That would probably go down better than raising it with the expectation they'll pay for it.

Martin_the_Unjust

Invite them round for tea and cake and chat to them about the hedge.

[Deleted User]

An 8-9 foot hedge isn't tall, most fence panels are 6 !

I doubt the owner would want it reduced and even less pay for it to be so, if it was double that height i'd say it was tall and then have a conversation with them about it and see where that takes you.

If they're gardeners that love their plants/trees they'll probably not be happy about having it reduced, if they're not gardeners they may be more amenable.

TELLIT01

Anything over 2 metres high may fall under High Hedges legislation.  There are no hard and fast rules and it's up to the local council to make a decision on each case.

First port of call is to speak to the neighbours to see if they are willing to reduce the height.

Soot2006

I am the owner of such a hedge (was 10-11ft tall when we moved in). Neighbours came and talked to me about it and we ended up agreeing to split the cost to have a professional come and reduce its size and tidy it up properly from both sides.  Since then I've mostly maintained it from my side where I can reach (it's still tall, but only about 8ft so I can reach most of it) and also offered to the neighbour to do her side as it's very wide so I can't reach the full width from my end. So I guess my perspective is that's not cheeky if the request is nicely framed. Need to wait for it not to be nesting season and neighbours might be happy for a contribution to the initial costs as it's a big job and I would never had had the time or the tools for that first huge height reduction. We're all very pleased with a tidy hedge though!

TELLIT01

Reducing the height of a 100 foot long hedge by 3 feet or more is not going to come cheap.

Ganga

TELLIT01 said:

Reducing the height of a 100 foot long hedge by 3 feet or more is not going to come cheap.

Unless they do it themselves rather than paying someone.

onomatopoeia99

I have a similar problem, 100' long hedge, 10-11' high. The hedge is my neighbour's, but it would take over my garden growing into it.  I ended up cutting it right back, exposing the 60cm chicken wire fence marking the boundary, and putting up a 2m feather edge fence myself to replace it, so I only have to trim the stuff that comes over the top.

Unfortunately since my last relapse my ability to climb is reduced as my balance is poor, so it looks like I'm going to have to pay someone to maintain my neighbour's hedge that I can't stop growing.

Kim_kim

onomatopoeia99 said:

I have a similar problem, 100' long hedge, 10-11' high. The hedge is my neighbour's, but it would take over my garden growing into it.  I ended up cutting it right back, exposing the 60cm chicken wire fence marking the boundary, and putting up a 2m feather edge fence myself to replace it, so I only have to trim the stuff that comes over the top.

Unfortunately since my last relapse my ability to climb is reduced as my balance is poor, so it looks like I'm going to have to pay someone to maintain my neighbour's hedge that I can't stop growing.

I have to pay to have my side cut back, otherwise it would encroach right into my garden & I do have it cut to the chicken wire boundary.  

Kim_kim

Emmia said:

Are you proposing to pay for the trim? That would probably go down better than raising it with the expectation they'll pay for it.

No I wasn’t.  One it’s their side, I already pay to have it cut from my side.  The top
is on their side.  

He is very handy though and would be able to do it himself.