Boundary hedge and excavation?

[flanagaj]

We have a boundary 'hedge', I use inverted commas, as it's basically Hazel that is 25 foot tall, and has never been coppiced by the owner.  I need to put a retaining wall in as close as possible to the associated hard boundary, but am unsure what are the associated legal issues.  Given the hedge has never been maintained, and when I spoke to the individual through the gap who owned it (needs cutting as it's touching the electricity line), she simply replied "I do, and you can contact the electricity company to come and cut it", bloody cheek of it.

 

If I get the excavator in and start pulling a trench, and the 'hedge' happens to die, am I simply eligible for a fine?  

[ProDave]

11 minutes ago, flanagaj said:

I spoke to the individual through the gap who owned it (needs cutting as it's touching the electricity line), she simply replied "I do, and you can contact the electricity company to come and cut it",

He is correct.

 

A neighbour here had a massive tree, and Ash I think, that worried him when the wind blew as it would crush his house.  but it was also close to and thus in danger of damaging an overhead power line.

 

Electricity co came and looked and agreed they would cut the tree down for the safety of their line.

[Russell griffiths]

A fine from who. 
the hedge owner would need to prove you killed it and then take you to court over it, very very unlikely to happen, now if it was a large tree with a TPO on it I would say tread carefully. 
 

the chances of killing some hazel by excavating near it are very slim. 
 

as a side note i would not build any form of rigid wall, ie not block n render, use gabion baskets or sleepers, any form of ground movement will not be noticed in a flexible wall, but make it rigid and render it and your asking for trouble. 

[saveasteading]

29 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

the chances of killing some hazel by excavating near it are very slim.

I think hazel would grow again from the roots. Also that it propagates easily from cuttings so you could start growing some now, in anticipation.

 

31 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

use gabion baskets or sleepers,

This is probably correct.   Why do you want a retaining wall?  Would it be above or below the neighbours' ground?  You cannot dig out any of their ground without their permission. How high would it be?

[flanagaj]

33 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

A fine from who. 
the hedge owner would need to prove you killed it and then take you to court over it, very very unlikely to happen, now if it was a large tree with a TPO on it I would say tread carefully. 
 

the chances of killing some hazel by excavating near it are very slim. 
 

as a side note i would not build any form of rigid wall, ie not block n render, use gabion baskets or sleepers, any form of ground movement will not be noticed in a flexible wall, but make it rigid and render it and your asking for trouble. 

Thanks Russell.  I was planning on using sleepers vertically set into concrete.   I did think that Hazel is probably quite resilient at having it's roots chopped.

[flanagaj]

2 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Why do you want a retaining wall?  Would it be above or below the neighbours' ground?  You cannot dig out any of their ground without their permission. How high would it be?

The paddock behind is 600mm above our level.  At the moment it's a sloping bank.  I was thinking it requires a french drain as well.

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, flanagaj said:

it requires a french drain as well.

It does but it would be on your land. Dig out bank and stop short of the boundary. French drain on your land. Sleeper wall on your land, and you can step each layer back a  bit and over the drain. Backfill as you go.

Then you might need a new boundary marker. Is there a fence hidden in the hedge?

ith th boundary being your neighbors responsibility you need agreement to repair or replace it.

Also you need to keep the neighbour's pets and children safe from falling into the hole or the machinery. sounds complicated when they aren't cooperating, but maybe they will.

[flanagaj]

2 hours ago, saveasteading said:

It does but it would be on your land. Dig out bank and stop short of the boundary. French drain on your land. Sleeper wall on your land, and you can step each layer back a  bit and over the drain. Backfill as you go.

Then you might need a new boundary marker. Is there a fence hidden in the hedge?

ith th boundary being your neighbors responsibility you need agreement to repair or replace it.

Also you need to keep the neighbour's pets and children safe from falling into the hole or the machinery. sounds complicated when they aren't cooperating, but maybe they will.

Yes, there is a barb wired fence in the hedging.  As to 'step each layer back' what do you mean exactly?  I was planning on having a single vertical sleeper set into concrete, and then back fill from behind it.  I also thought the French drain would have been better off on the filled side so that I backfill with gravel and a membrane to a) stop the sleepers being in direct contact with soil and rotting, and b) so any water that comes towards the wall soaks down through the gravel and along the French drain. 

[saveasteading]

13 hours ago, flanagaj said:

step each layer back' 

A 600mm wall is 3 sleepers high. I meant you could set the second one 30mm further back, and repeat. Perhaps that's trivial.

13 hours ago, flanagaj said:

better off on the filled side so that I backfill with gravel 

Indeed. The filled side is next to the boundary.