Burnt hedge caused by contractors - advice please

kemlynroader

Hey guys. So a subcontractor for Virgin Media recently did some pipework related works on the pavement outside my dad's property and in the process of doing this, managed to burn my dad's hedge (the burn area is approx 3.5 metres left to right, and 80 centimetres high at it's tallest point).

The company responsible has admitted liability.

Cutting the hedge back to get rid of the brown is not an option as the foliage is not very thick.

They have offered a goodwill gesture of £250 for the damage caused.

I'm not ungrateful at all about this - but would you say this is a reasonable offer? (It's not like I can go and buy a replacement) although I could paint it green . I'm happy to wait for this to grow back.

Thanks

marcia_

 I think its pretty good considering you are not needing to spend anything to replace it. 

twopenny

Sounds good to me. That's quite a bit in my experience. Wish someone would offer that to me at the moment!

I would say that if you gently cut back the burned branches by an inch or so the resulting shoots should fill the gap by next spring.

Or wait till spring for the shoots and then cut back the dead bits.

Yours isn't the first post about a media company doing damage to a boundary.

Slinky

What on earth were they doing to cause damage at that height and not below it?

Eldi_Dos

Looks like they have been laying new tar and may have had a blowtorch carelessly attached to equipment, lucky it was not a line of parked cars.

@kemlynroader.  Looks like your Dad takes pride in the hedge, shame this has happened but it should grow back in the spring.
If the colour is annoying your Dad you could try some food colouring that home bakers use and mix it into spray bottle and spray on till spring comes

baser999

Agree with twopenny, trim the hedge back (but not beyond the last shoots) and hopefully it’ll regrow. If it doesn’t it may be possible to pull the edges of the existing growth back together, thread some gardening twine through it as if you’re stitching it together and ‘reshape’. It looks like a privet hedge which will be happy to accept a considerable amount of pulling about.

in_my_wellies

This happened to about 8 or 10 houses along the lane where I live during replacement pipe laying, not Virgin. It was some contaminant on the red and white barriers they used. Depending on the species it took a short or long time to regrow. Worst was the beech and fir. The line can still be seen on the neatly clipped fir hedges more than five years later.  

kemlynroader

Thanks all. Most of the leaves have died already. so little point in the spray suggestion. The house in now on the market so I'll enjoy explaining what's happened to the hedge to any would-be purchasers 

Woolsery

kemlynroader said:The house in now on the market so I'll enjoy explaining what's happened to the hedge to any would-be purchasers 

I doubt they'll be concerned.  Buyers still in the market will be thinking about other ways they might get burned!