Tall hedge on a boundary

[JohnBishop]

Hi All,

 I have a question about a tall hedge with my neighbour. I don't know the species of the tree but it's already like 4m high.
Pruning this thing is going to be a long process.

What are the rules re the hedges. I heard someone mentioned some rule/law that one neighbour takes care of the fence on one side of the plot.
Is this applicable to hedges? If it's me that supposed to take are of it then I am not going to do it on my own.
The neighbour had enough time (decades) to liaise with the housing association that owned this property until I moved in to make sure it does not grow so tall.
I reckon he wants some sunlight back.

This hedge by the way houses hundreds of birds of different species. When I do some loud work near the hedge then the birds respond with loud chirping. There is a bunch of them living there.
I am not going to cut it all down in one year to disturb this ecosystem and the birds don't leave the place for winter.

Please advise.

[Russell griffiths]

Timing wise you might have missed the boat this year and will need to wait until September when bird nesting has finished. 

Regarding the neighbour, why not go and talk to him and get his feelings about it. 

Who's hedge is it ?

i have a lot of shared boundary hedges, sometimes it is easier to pay to get what you want rather than waiting for someone else to do something.

You have a few months to get thinking.  

[Gone West]

Any pictures? Is it evergreen? The chirping is probably made by house sparrows. Trimming garden hedges is usually allowed all year.

 

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/hedges/pruning-guide

 

 

[Dave Jones]

the councils now deal with the nuisance of high hedges.

 

Approach neighbour amicably and ask them to cut it down to a reasonable height. IF the refuse goto council.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-hedges-complaining-to-the-council

 

 

[JohnBishop]

1 hour ago, Gone West said:

Any pictures? Is it evergreen? The chirping is probably made by house sparrows. Trimming garden hedges is usually allowed all year.

 

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/hedges/pruning-guide

 

 

Apologies, it was taken against the sun and from 1st floor but you can get an idea.
Yes, it's evergreen. It does not drop leaves in winter.
I do recognise sparrows. I have counted other species of birds e.g. wild pigeons, magpies, tomtits packs of some brown birds. The selection of calls is rather rich. I don't think I heard cuckoo

 

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by JohnBishop

[JohnBishop]

1 hour ago, Russell griffiths said:

Timing wise you might have missed the boat this year and will need to wait until September when bird nesting has finished. 

Regarding the neighbour, why not go and talk to him and get his feelings about it. 

Who's hedge is it ?

i have a lot of shared boundary hedges, sometimes it is easier to pay to get what you want rather than waiting for someone else to do something.

You have a few months to get thinking.  

The hedge is on a boundary. Even if I cut the overgrown on my side I don't think it will make a difference to the neighbour.
I am fine with the hedge. I know the neighbour is pruning it but only overgrown at his height, he didn't go after the bits higher up. I reckon he could himself.
I asked in case there is some law / custom that obliges one side more than the other.
As far as I see the hedge is on the boundary but overgrown on my side.

Looking at the more recent roof repair over the part wall he didn't want to share the cost.
I will trim it at my height but I won't be cutting the 2.5m+ ones. Maybe only the ones that are overhanging into my side.

By the way there is no fence on either side of the hedge, it's just a thick hedge.

Edited April 3, 2023 by JohnBishop

[Temp]

9 hours ago, JohnBishop said:

What are the rules re the hedges. I heard someone mentioned some rule/law that one neighbour takes care of the fence on one side of the plot.
Is this applicable to hedges? If it's me that supposed to take are of it then I am not going to do it on my own.

 

There are no hard rules on who owns what fence or hedge. Sometimes it's mentioned in the title deeds. I believe it is one of the questions solicitors ask sellers these days.. who maintains or own which fence.. but many reply they don't know who owns which fence. Check with your solicitor.

 

As others have said, it's probably too late to cut it this year. I normaly cut our hedge in early January when the leaves have gone so there is less to clear up and no animals hiding.

 

 

[Temp]

If its your hedge you can be required to cut it down if its causing a nuisance. They are a lot easier to maintain if only 6ft anyway.

[Russell griffiths]

I think everyone needs to read the high hedges act a bit more in depth.

Its not as simple as just calling the council.

It can take months and months to get the council to intervene, then the council might charge you for the privilege to come and look at it, then you might find you don’t like the outcome. 

Its far from straightforward.  

[Alan Ambrose]

>>> There are no hard rules on who owns what fence or hedge.

 

I appreciate it's a bit historically vague in a lot of cases. However. in two recent property purchases I did (2018 & 2023) - it was crystal clear on the plans. Little 'internal T' signs for some reason with the Ts on the side of the land indicating ownership. The TP1 says:

 

to maintain the boundary fencing marked with internal Ts on Plan 1 in a style as currently installed by the Transferor

[JohnBishop]

3 hours ago, Russell griffiths said:

Timing wise you might have missed the boat this year and will need to wait until September when bird nesting has finished.

Yes, I know. I would not be able to do it this time round - no manpower. Higher priorities. If so it has to be winter 2023/2024

[JohnBishop]

51 minutes ago, Alan Ambrose said:

>>> There are no hard rules on who owns what fence or hedge.

 

I appreciate it's a bit historically vague in a lot of cases. However. in two recent property purchases I did (2018 & 2023) - it was crystal clear on the plans. Little 'internal T' signs for some reason with the Ts on the side of the land indicating ownership. The TP1 says:

 

to maintain the boundary fencing marked with internal Ts on Plan 1 in a style as currently installed by the Transferor

I checked in my "report on title". There is Plan of the Property and the boundary is outlined in red but I don't see any T. The property was built in 1930.

[Kelvin]

Have you spoken with your neighbour about it? That’s your starting point. Once you understand their position on the hedge you can decide on your next step. 

[JohnBishop]

5 minutes ago, Kelvin said:

Have you spoken with your neighbour about it? That’s your starting point. Once you understand their position on the hedge you can decide on your next step. 

We talked about it once. I said that I prune it at some point but I didn't specify the scope of work as this was a conversation about everything.
I could pretty much ignore it for another year as I have other priorities.

My understanding is that you move in to a new place and you express interest in many things that concern the property and the boundary especially if there is a lot of work to be done
however on the other hand for a neighbour it could well be an opportunity to use such new comer to solve problems that have been left unattended for years.

If I was him I would cut the top bits myself or pay someone to do it not wait like 20 years for some able neighbour to take care of it.
He said that once he hired a council team to shred the branches.
When this property was owned by a housing association before I understand it's easier for neighbours to deal with HA than regular landlords and HA would do extra work at the time.
Maybe he prefers the shade. I have to ask him.

[Kelvin]

You need to have a conversation specifically about the hedge, don’t leave it for another year. 
 

For example. There’s a hedge that bounds part of our land. It belongs to the neighbour it then leads to a fence and some trees that also belong to my neighbour. One of the first conversations I had with him was to discuss the upkeep of the hedge, the fence, and the trees and we’ve come to an agreement on how to manage it and the height of hedge and trees. Fortunately we both have the same opinion on how best to manage it. 
 

 

[JohnBishop]

Do you know where can source some bird houses or get some designs? I think when I start taking some of these branches down I think I owe the birds some new shelter.
I really enjoy this bird ecosystem and would like to preserve it as much as possible.

[SteamyTea]

Getting back to the bird boxes.

As nature does not follow the English Legal System about ownership of property, what is to stop bats moving in, and if they did, could that cause problems if you wanted to do a bit more work on the property?

 

I closed off my extractor fan outlet this year this a proper vent cover, last 4 years I have had the house martins move in.  Happy Hour, I don't think so, but it did only take a little time.