Tall hedges

hangryconsumer

It's a difficult situation which would have been made easier by introductions when the guy moved in. People only introduce themselves when they want something doing. Couple moved in near me and wrote a letter to everyone saying (in slightly more flowery language than my summary) - "hi we've just moved in, boundaries are joint responsibility so we'll be coming to ask you for money to replace the fence."  The only reason the fence needed replacing was because they removed the hedges that the previous owner had. They didn't get any money from me and I'd happily have gone to court to decide what was legally fair. Removing those hedges means that their ridiculous 10million lumen spotlight shines straight into the bedroom window so I have to buy blackout blinds or wear an eye mask.

Just go talk to the guy and let us know what he says. He might even be reading this forum.

Emmia

Kim_kim said:

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.  

But the benefit of the proposed trim is mostly yours... They may not give two hoots about sunshine levels in a garden that is not their own.

Perhaps they also like the privacy a taller hedge provides?

All you can do is talk to them, no one on the forum knows what they'll say.

Soot2006

Emmia said:

Kim_kim said:

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.  

But the benefit of the proposed trim is mostly yours... They may not give two hoots about sunshine levels in a garden that is not their own.

Perhaps they also like the privacy a taller hedge provides?

All you can do is talk to them, no one on the forum knows what they'll say.

Exactly this. Going back to my situation, my super tall hedge cast a massive shadow over the neighbour's garden for the whole morning . On my side it was a glorious, sunny, insect-busy hedge. Hence the neighbour approached with offer of contribution from the start, which I appreciated and I also popped in and saw the shade for myself. We're both keen gardeners so that helped us come to an agreement quite quickly, but I do also know the same agreement was never reached with our previous owner because he didn't really care = hence massive hedge.

I'd always look for a point of connection for such a conversation to keep it as non adversarial as possible.

Kim_kim

hangryconsumer said:

It's a difficult situation which would have been made easier by introductions when the guy moved in. People only introduce themselves when they want something doing. Couple moved in near me and wrote a letter to everyone saying (in slightly more flowery language than my summary) - "hi we've just moved in, boundaries are joint responsibility so we'll be coming to ask you for money to replace the fence."  The only reason the fence needed replacing was because they removed the hedges that the previous owner had. They didn't get any money from me and I'd happily have gone to court to decide what was legally fair. Removing those hedges means that their ridiculous 10million lumen spotlight shines straight into the bedroom window so I have to buy blackout blinds or wear an eye mask.

Just go talk to the guy and let us know what he says. He might even be reading this forum.

You’re assuming I haven’t already introduced myself to them.  Of course I have.