"nambucca" wrote in message
...
Just before the previous
neighbour left, they planted what I can only imagine to be a leylandi
shrub. That was last July, and now the shrub / tree is over 8 foot
tall. Whilst the neighbour is fine, he doesn't want to cut the shrub
(he reckons it looks spectacular!) and it looks like by the end of
this summer it will be dwarfing our 4 foot fence by some considerable
height!

You are well within your rights to cut back roots and branches right back
to
the boundary

But, AFAIK, if you cut back the roots or branches which results in damage to
your neighbour's trees, then you're liable for that damage. Also, I believe
the new "anti-social" legislation says that an evergreen hedge (defined as 3
or more trees in a row) cannot be higher than 2 metres, however, I don't
know if that applies to evergreen hedges that are already in existance. I
believe that you're entitled to cut back any branches that overhang your
property and you're supposed to "offer" the branches back to the tree's
owner (but the owner doesn't have to accept them).