Is there a legal height for conifers?

The owners of the garden behind ours have a wall of 4 enormous conifers
which, over the past few years, have grown so tall that they are
increasingly blocking the sunlight in our garden.

We were wondering if there is a legal height for such trees.

Any advice would be appreciated,

Jo

On Tue, 6 May 2008 19:50:42 +0100, Jo wrote
(in article c6Odnf4zAYUeNb3VnZ2dnUVZ8v6dnZ2d@plusnet):

Is there a legal height for conifers?

The owners of the garden behind ours have a wall of 4 enormous conifers
which, over the past few years, have grown so tall that they are
increasingly blocking the sunlight in our garden.

We were wondering if there is a legal height for such trees.

AFAIR it is 2 metres. There's an outfit called Hedge Line which appears to
be hosted he
http://freespace.virgin.net/clare.h/

They should have the information you want. However, it would be better to
talk to your neighbours first in a friendly way to see if they would agree to
lopping them.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
http://www.freerice.com/index.php
Give free rice to hungry people by playing a simple word game

Sally Thompson wrote:
On Tue, 6 May 2008 19:50:42 +0100, Jo wrote
(in article c6Odnf4zAYUeNb3VnZ2dnUVZ8v6dnZ2d@plusnet):

Is there a legal height for conifers?

The owners of the garden behind ours have a wall of 4 enormous conifers
which, over the past few years, have grown so tall that they are
increasingly blocking the sunlight in our garden.

We were wondering if there is a legal height for such trees.

AFAIR it is 2 metres. There's an outfit called Hedge Line which appears to
be hosted he
http://freespace.virgin.net/clare.h/

They should have the information you want. However, it would be better to
talk to your neighbours first in a friendly way to see if they would agree to
lopping them.


You'll know from my posts I'm about as much a beginner gardener as it's
possible to be :-) But I'd always try and resolve an issue with
neighbours in a friendly way. Most of the time the neighbour doesn't
even realise there's an issue.

"Tom" wrote in message
news:fLSdnUTuFZzYUL3VnZ2dnUVZ8uqdnZ2d@plusnet...
Sally Thompson wrote:
On Tue, 6 May 2008 19:50:42 +0100, Jo wrote
(in article c6Odnf4zAYUeNb3VnZ2dnUVZ8v6dnZ2d@plusnet):

Is there a legal height for conifers?

The owners of the garden behind ours have a wall of 4 enormous conifers
which, over the past few years, have grown so tall that they are
increasingly blocking the sunlight in our garden.

We were wondering if there is a legal height for such trees.

AFAIR it is 2 metres. There's an outfit called Hedge Line which appears
to be hosted he
http://freespace.virgin.net/clare.h/

They should have the information you want. However, it would be better
to talk to your neighbours first in a friendly way to see if they would
agree to lopping them.


You'll know from my posts I'm about as much a beginner gardener as it's
possible to be :-) But I'd always try and resolve an issue with neighbours
in a friendly way. Most of the time the neighbour doesn't even realise
there's an issue.

Quite some time ago I knew the neighbour quite well and mentioned it to her.
She realised that the conifers were growing too large and indicated that she
couldn't afford to get them cut....so she moved house!

"Sally Thompson" wrote after Jo asked

Is there a legal height for conifers?

The owners of the garden behind ours have a wall of 4 enormous conifers
which, over the past few years, have grown so tall that they are
increasingly blocking the sunlight in our garden.

We were wondering if there is a legal height for such trees.

AFAIR it is 2 metres. There's an outfit called Hedge Line which appears
to
be hosted he
http://freespace.virgin.net/clare.h/

They should have the information you want. However, it would be better to
talk to your neighbours first in a friendly way to see if they would agree
to
lopping them.


Is it a hedge or just 4 conifers, you can get something done about the first
but not the last. If it's a hedge and your neighbours refuse to have them
lopped to the maximum height of 2 metres you can approach your local Council
who will decide if it comes under the legislation and will then order the
work to be done or even do it themselves at a cost to the owner.
However you, yes you, have to pay the Council £400. to get them to look into
a hedge dispute and it's none refundable so if they decide it does not come
under the legislation or that you have no case you lose your money for
nothing.
An elderly neighbour has a serious problem with a high hedge, like 35ft and
growing on the S. side of his garden, but can't afford the £400. The owner
of the hedge refuses to talk about it.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On Tue, 6 May 2008 19:50:42 +0100, Jo wrote:

We were wondering if there is a legal height for such trees.

Any advice would be appreciated,

If there isn't a legal maximum height for a confiers and TBH I'd be
surprised if there was. You might want to start reading up on "ancient
lights". This is very old law with roots back into the 13th C giving some
rights to light. There is almost certainly a mine field of prescident and
amendments that time and other legislation involved as well...

Talk nicely to your neighbour is the first instance, it'll be cheaper than
a lawyer.

--
Cheers
Dave.

An elderly neighbour has a serious problem with a high hedge, like 35ft
and growing on the S. side of his garden, but can't afford the £400. The
owner of the hedge refuses to talk about it.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden


Don't be rotten. You will be elderly yourself one day. Talk to her about
them ;-)

Mike

In article c6Odnf4zAYUeNb3VnZ2dnUVZ8v6dnZ2d@plusnet,
says...
Is there a legal height for conifers?

The owners of the garden behind ours have a wall of 4 enormous conifers
which, over the past few years, have grown so tall that they are
increasingly blocking the sunlight in our garden.

We were wondering if there is a legal height for such trees.

Any advice would be appreciated,

Jo



If they are a hedge then you can go to the council and pay them money to
arbitrate on a height reduction but trees are specifically excluded from
this legistration and if these 4 are not part of a hedge you are probebly
stuck with them.
A freindly aproach to the neighbours to assertain their views on these
trees may be worth your while - they may not like them either but lack
the courage or finaces to solve the problem, you could then offer to
help!
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

In article ,
says...
The message from "Bob Hobden" contains these words:
"Sally Thompson" wrote after Jo asked

Is there a legal height for conifers?

The owners of the garden behind ours have a wall of 4 enormous
conifers which, over the past few years, have grown so tall that
they are increasingly blocking the sunlight in our garden.

We were wondering if there is a legal height for such trees.

AFAIR it is 2 metres. There's an outfit called Hedge Line which
appears to be hosted he
http://freespace.virgin.net/clare.h/

They should have the information you want. However, it would be
better to talk to your neighbours first in a friendly way to see
if they would agree to lopping them.

Is it a hedge or just 4 conifers, you can get something done about
the first but not the last.

[...]

A hedge is enshrined in legislation (in England and Wales) as 'two
or more trees' Bob.

I've just looked it up, to see if any legislation has been introduced
by the Scottish Parliament...


Yes but in a line, a random planting is not a hedge otherwise half the
urban trees in britain would get the chop! there are after all many
gardens with two trees in them
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

Almost right Bob. You can get your neighbour to trim their (evergreen, or mainly evergreen) hedge, but frequently the determined maximum height will be rather more than 2m. Check it out here. http://www.communities.gov.uk/planni...es/highhedges/
It is not an offence to have a high hedge. You are breaking the law if your neighbour gets an order and you fail to trim it to the height in that order, maximum fine £1000. Getting an order is not easy, you have to have evidence of trying to solve it amicably first. If there is an order, it may well be for a height rather more than 2m. 2m would be for an evergreen hedge close to your neighbour's south-facing window. It is all extremely complicated as this document makes clear. http://www.communities.gov.uk/docume...wguidancehedge

Here's some FAQ from that site.

The legislation does not require all hedges to be cut down to a height of 2 metres
You do not have to get permission to grow a hedge above 2 metres
When a hedge grows over 2 metres the local authority does not automatically take action, unless a justifiable complaint is made
If you complain to your local authority, it does not follow automatically that they will order your neighbour to reduce the height of their hedge. They have to weigh up all the issues and consider each case on its merits
The legislation does not cover single or deciduous trees
The local authority cannot require the hedge to be removed
The legislation does not guarantee access to uninterrupted light
There is no provision to serve an Anti-social Behaviour Order (ASBO) in respect of high hedge complaints.

"'Mike'" wrote ...
An elderly neighbour has a serious problem with a high hedge, like 35ft
and growing on the S. side of his garden, but can't afford the £400. The
owner of the hedge refuses to talk about it.


Don't be rotten. You will be elderly yourself one day. Talk to her about
them ;-)


The owner of the hedge is not elderly, the one that is suffering is.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

This link may be helpful: http://freespace.virgin.net/clare.h/JHdgAEasyGuide.htm

It does rather seem to turn on whether these are 4 specimen trees or 4 large conifers [?leylandii] planted as a screen.

If your neighbour is not susceptible to a polite request, and you plan
to sell up one day, I would think carefully before using legal
compulsion, even if it's available to you. There is a question in the
standard conveyancing enquiries about any neighbour disputes.
Something like this would come within that. You wouldn't honestly be
able to answer "no" to the question, and that might put some buyers
off. (However, others may be put off by a towering dense pine forest
on the boundary!)