If you have tried and exhausted all other avenues for resolving your hedge dispute, you can make a high hedges complaint.
We have powers to deal with complaints about high hedges. The law relates only to hedges that are composed mainly of evergreen trees, often these are conifer hedges. The government website has some useful guidance on what complaints we can consider and how we might deal with them .
There is no rule setting a maximum height for conifer hedges. We can only set a height for a hedge if the formal complaint procedure is undertaken. Each hedge is assessed on its own merits and in relation to the properties around it.
High hedge complaints cost £600. The fee is non-refundable.
This covers the cost of site visits and surveys which help us to remain impartial so that we can act as an independent decision-maker. Once the complaint has been checked for including all the required evidence, a fee will then be requested.
As part of your complaint you will need to clearly provide the following evidence:
- the steps you’ve taken to try to settle the dispute
- the problems that you are having in your home and/or its garden or yard because the hedge is too tall
- why these problems are serious
- how you think the hedge is adversely affecting the reasonable enjoyment of this property.
