they could force the owner to keep it below 2m high, but they also have to take into account what effect cutting it back would have on the health of the hedge etc, so unless it’s going to survive a severe chop, they won’t enforce.
Getting the High Hedges bill passed was a long and arduous process, but councils have made a farce of this law. The comment above would be one example why. For a hedge issue to be investigated, I believe there is a charge of a few hundred pounds – deterring many complaints. I don’t think councils like to get involved in any form of neigbour dispute – they don’t really give a damn! So the High Hedges Bill may as well never been passed!
TBH, if the tree is just blocking your view/sunlight etc, rather than physically impeding you, you should probably just learn to live with it. After all, it’s just a tree, and probably not worth falling out with your neighbour over (assuming you haven’t already burnt that bridge…). Things could be worse, you could have a complete c*ck-jockey living next door to you going out of his way to make life difficult for you. That’s what we’ve got…
Erm no, i just don’t agree! If your home and garden are deprived of light, you end up living in a gloomy space. Light deprivation is a serious issue! What right has an individual got to destroy a neighbour’s enjoyment of his/her costly home, or even his/her well being? What right does a council have to put the health of a poxy hedge before the health and happiness of a human being? Quite bonkers IMO! What about the health and safety of the neigbours that balance precariously on ladders on a steep uneven borders to cut the overhang into their property because numpty doesn’t look after his/her own hedge/trees?
We have a neighbour close to us who goes out of their way to pxss everyone off – i’ll spare you the full details. His trees and a hedge are two out of several issues we routinely experience from him. The guy next door is currently employing an arboriculturist to produce a report on the effects of a neglected Willow that is towering above our gardens. The offending tree is huge, but the ground rises steeply from the rear of our homes, exasurbating the issue. The same tree resulted in us being refused a mortgage 17 years ago due to the potential threat of subsidence. But as the owner at the time performed annual prunning, it was not a problem. Then he moved out and numptyy moved in. They kicked off with a party and staged their live band in the garden which went on until 3am! FFS!
Don’t let people bully you! If people are blatantly and consitently disregarding their neighbours after numerous polite approaches, then falling out with them is par for the course! Letters detailing your issues and what you want done about them first and then if this fails, the council need to be involved. This neighbour of ours has had numerous people complaining to the council about them, but they take very little notice. The anxiety that my retired neighbour is experiencing isn’t funny!
So what’s next? Hope numpty gets a fatal bout of Swine flu? I’d rather he moved out, but this seems very unlikely. We only have one life, one expensive home, spoilt by bullies. That is unacceptable! They should use ASBO laws on people like this.