Hedge trimming, who pays?

david29dpo

You said it was me?

caprikid1

Hedge Law UK | Property Disputes | BLB Solicitors

This link outlines some of the law.

Unfortunately the law it would appear is silent around responsibility to trim the other side, quite vocal though on height.

ButterCheese

We are in the same situation, on our boundary at the bottom of the garden.  The neighbours below have bamboo which grows about 10 feet above our garden house, blocking out some of the view.  We have asked them to cut it down, they said they are planning on doing so but I don't believe them.  We have also told them that the bamboo roots have actually spread and grown underneath our elderly neighbours fence, but they still don't seem to care. 

We basically paid someone to lop the tops off as short as they could reach, and dispose of the waste.  If nothing is done soon, I will start to chop it off at the roots as far as I can reach from our boundary.

I know there is no law to protect this sort of thing but when the jungle owners don't care, they obviously won't care if we chop it either.  It is very lazy, arrogant and rude.

david29dpo

And apparently there is nothing they can do! 

FreeBear

ButterCheese said: We basically paid someone to lop the tops off as short as they could reach, and dispose of the waste.  If nothing is done soon, I will start to chop it off at the roots as far as I can reach from our boundary.

Cutting the tops off bamboo encourages it to throw up new shoots from the ground. Reaching into someones garden to chop the stems down would be criminal damage. On top of that, it will encourage the bamboo to throw up more shoots and run. So not only are you committing an offence, you make the (bamboo) problem even worse.

Fortunately, bamboo is relatively easy to contain - Dig around the clump and install a ~300mm deep barrier, and it will stop the rhizomes from encroaching.

pinkshoes

david29dpo said:

And apparently there is nothing they can do! 

No, there isn't unfortunately. 

I mean there have been cases when the neighbour has gone on holiday and the entire hedge accidentally got cut down... but I'm not recommending action like this!

I'd pay for it to be cut right back to the boundary quite severely, then put a decent fence up. If it grows over the top of the fence, then I believe there is some sort of antisocial behaviour thing with councils for hedges that are way too high. 

grumpy_codger

doodling said:

Hi,

david29dpo said:

Thanks but why not?

Those exceptions include (but are not limited to) property adjacent to a highway, certain non-native 'pest' species, excessively tall hedges and I suspect a deliberate intent to cause nuisance.  None of those apply here.

Any chance bloody conifers are classed as non-native pests?

AskAsk

Person B is responsible for cutting the hedge on their side as often, person A doesn't have access to the neighbour's property to do this so it is not practical.

Unfortunately that is the law in england.  It is a nuisance I know, but then again, you do get to have a nice hedge to enjoy.

doodling

Hi,

grumpy_codger said:

doodling said:

Hi,

david29dpo said:

Thanks but why not?

Those exceptions include (but are not limited to) property adjacent to a highway, certain non-native 'pest' species, excessively tall hedges and I suspect a deliberate intent to cause nuisance.  None of those apply here.

Any chance bloody conifers are classed as non-native pests?

No, think Japanese knotweed for that.

Conifers might fall under high hedge regulations, depending on the height - Google is your friend for the legislation surrounding those 

Baldytyke88

user1977 said:

david29dpo said:

I feel a test case coming!

What would be the legal basis for such a case? Courts don't just make stuff up based on the story put in front of them.

In the UK, according to the Highways Act 1980, Section 154, if a hedge overhangs a highway and obstructs or endangers road users, the landowner is legally required to trim it back; the local highway authority can serve a notice demanding the hedge be cut, and if the landowner fails to comply, the council may do the work themselves and charge the cost to the property owner.

So it's the land owners responsibility if the hedge overhangs the highway, but if it overhangs someone's garden, the rules are different.

So I can see a basis for a law, but lets just be neighbourly and cut the hedge on your side. It's cheaper than a fence.