Would you be annoyed if your neighbour removed a boundary garden hedge…

…without telling you?

I’m in the process of completely re landscaping our garden and am on a tight deadline as I have topsoil and turf being delivered soon.

As part of the rejig I want to remove the manky half dead hedge that provides about 30% of the boundary with my neighbour. We own the boundary line as it were so I’m within my rights to remove the hedge.

However, my neighbour (whom I get on with) isn’t around to inform/politely ask if he has any issues. His garden doesn’t look like it’s been used in years.

Would it annoy the STW masses if you woke up to 1/3rd of your garden boundary missing?!

Watching this with interest, we’ve just moved in somewhere with hedges in the back garden as boundary. We own them all and are planning on taking them out and putting a fence up.
Not sure whether the nosey old boy next door is going to be happy.
If it helps you OP I’m just going to go ahead and do it.

Tell him first if you value his friendship. If you don’t, carry on.
What are you replacing it with?

what are you replacing it with ?

honestly ask, have you read the threads on here about neighbours. It normally starts with “My neighbours ripped out my hedge” or something.

Would it annoy the STW masses if you woke up to 1/3rd of your garden boundary missing?!

Yes – a lot.

I’ll be replacing it with some sort of wooden panel type thing.

For reference, hedge on the left at the bottom.

“Not sure whether the nosey old boy next door is going to be happy.
If it helps you OP I’m just going to go ahead and do it.”

why not speak to him first inform him that you are doing it and that you do own it according to deeds. or look like a **** and cut it down without telling him and make an enemy before you start.

Would it annoy your average STW forumite? Are you serious? They’d be so absolutely apoplectic, they’d go into a crazed frenzy of bedwetting, middle class, passive aggressiveness.

They’d post a sternly worded thread on here detailing the untold misery they’re now being forced to endure, how this is surely a symptom of the sick society we live in, then before the day is out they’d have involved the police, the local council, social services, Waitress customer services, and the RSPCA

doesnt look like they would even notice that hedge was gone tbh …you cant see it from there garden by the looks of it.

The problem I have is that I need to get all the hedge removed and burned before I clear the ground for my turf and topsoil which will arrive very soon.

My neighbour’s a nice guy but it doesn’t look like he ever used his garden (I’m always trying to defend our garden from giant thorny triffids that climb over the fence)

To be honest I would . Hedges make a much better boundary than fences both in terms of look and durability and providing a haven for wildlife.

It also suggests negative things about the neighbour who makes changes to a shared boundary without consultation.

I have good relations with both my neighbours and we don’t fall out over stuff because we discuss it and agree first.

if the hedge truly is manky as part of one of mine is then I’d have no objection to it coming out and indeed would help with the labour and cost.

I’d kill you and use your bones to fill the gap

To be honest I would . Hedges make a much better boundary than fences both in terms of look and durability and providing a haven for wildlife.

what he said …im in the process of growing a hedge so i can ditch my manky fence down the road side.

What does he have his side of the hedge? Will you be removing the roots (I would think so)?
How are you going to do that without disturbing his property?
How will you reinstate his side?
Can you put the new fence in from your side without going onto his land?
All these points and more need to be discussed with him.

Yeah I’m not keen on removing hedges generally but the section at the back (already removed) had (for reasons unknown) a 6 foot gap in it. The bit at the side is pretty dead in places

Are their not any rules/laws preventing you from burning a hedge?

from that photo, I’d doubt he’d even notice…..

What does he have his side of the hedge? Will you be removing the roots (I would think so)?

He has (from what I can tell) a rusty old garden chair, some rubbish and overgrown weeds behind the hedge.

I’m not sure about the roots tbh – was thinking of sticking the fence up and then dealing with them.

Oh and I have checked for bird’s nests and the like..

I’m pretty sure I can burn my hedge- other people seem to burn things .

*shrugs*

Another point to consider is that the birds are feeling quite sexy now so lots of eggs in nests.
If you get caught destroying a nest with eggs, it’s big fine time.

Ignore my last comment. too slow typing.

Are their not any rules/laws preventing you from burning a hedge?

None at all .

its just garden waste.

That said I reckon a good sized mattress would fill the gap nicely.

None at all .

its just garden waste.

Hint – There are plenty rules and laws on burning garden waste…

Looks like leylandii so on that basis and it’s location I’d say it needs to go …. but I would be mightily pissed if I came home to find my hedge gone with no prior warning/discussion.
You’ll need to replace it with fencing similar to what’s there already.

Have fun taking it out. I did a similar section (but a bit higher) two years ago and it was fairly hard work.

“Garden bonfires: the rules
There are no laws against having a bonfire,”

direct from the gov website.

there are laws against being a cock how ever and doing it when your neighbour has washing out or windows open….. OR doing it for commercial purposes.

but a considerate controlled burn in my garden of non toxic garden waste and theres **** all can be done

how ever – pulling down a leylandii today and burning it tomorrow will result in silly ammounts of smoke. – better taking it to the tip.

it looks like a good part of it is on his side.

It would be sensible to ask first.

and it’s not going to get in the way of your turf particularly.

I think you’ve convinced yourself of the overriding need to tear it out.

Put a note through his letter box telling him you want to remove it, and the date you plan to do so – I assume he does go home every night, so he’ll read it.

I would not be annoyed if you cut down that horrible hedge that needs trimming twice a year.

I WOULD be annoyed if you didn’t pay me the courtesy of asking me first.

Is the hedge yew? In my view it would be very sad to get rid of a yew hedge, the reason it is half dead is because it has been cut incorrectly, it should be cut on a slant or batter so the top is narrower than the bottom.

Baffles me why you’d even contemplate messing around with your garden borders when you have a lovely hill ripe for building sweet trails and ragging your roper Reign on 100m or so away. 😕

For what its worth I’d be very pissed off.

Not everyone wants a manicured estate – any birds or other wildlife passing by would see your neighbours garden as immensely preferable to the barren wasteland currently on your side.Whether you would want your garden like that or not doesn’t affect how your neighbour sees it.

Looking at the photo it looks a pretty difficult job to remove it without causing some disturbance next door so I’d make sure I at least checked with them first.

And careful for birds nests…

You could put a rusting old washing machine in the gap where the hedge was. Then invite all your mates round to drink cans of Stella while you burn all the garden waste, and some tyres

“Garden bonfires: the rules
There are no laws against having a bonfire,”

direct from the gov website.

Read the rest of that page.

i did – it says dont be an ass hole …. but there are no specific laws saying i cant have a fire in my garden….

no different to having a BBQ on a summers day or having your smoking chimnea goign with damp wood all night long as an old neighbour of mine did….

As Lady G said: push a polite note through their letterbox. Invite them around for coffee and explanation. It looks a long way from their and your houses. So long as you match the fence on the left, they have little room to argue.

From the details in your post, it sounds like the garden has been a long time in the planning? Could you not have informed him earlier when he was about, rather than wait until you are at a time critical point of the work?

You mention that you want to inform him/ask if he has any issues. What will you do if he objects? Presumably you are going to get rid of the hedge anyway?

I would be cheesed off if my neighbour just ripped up a hedge that bounds our garden without at least informing me, even if it is their legal boundary.

Being as he is not around to inform, I would drop a note through the door explaining what you are planning on doing and perhaps apologising that you have not been able to speak to him face to face about it in advance. Explain that you will try to keep disruption to a minimum & will clear up any disruption to his garden that occurs once the work is done. It will show that you are not just doing it without considering ‘the neighbours’.

Oh, and as above – the birds are starting to get frisky this time of year so look out for nests.

I’d be very annoyed if you damaged that hedge, if it was mine. I can’t see how you describe his garden as unused either. There is a reasonable lawn and a matching hedge on his end boundary trimmed to the same height. Even if you do get agreement to remove it there will be a good bit of making good to do on their side. I’d do nothing to it without agreement, and even then expect relations to be strained afterwards.

Go for it, it yours, you can do what you want.. it at the bottom of the garden not doing anything any good or really giving any privacy, if anything you be allowing more light into his garden.