NDN want me to cut down hedge

[Crymeashowr]

NDN are very nosy, if we’re in our front garden either watering plants, washing the cars, even just going out or coming home they will be at their window staring at us and on hot days they will sit on their bench facing our house and watch our every movement. Even if you wave and say hi they keep staring so we began to ignore them, but I got sick of the invasion of privacy and having an audience so we spent a small fortune on hedging and trees to block their view. Now the issue we have is that NDN are complaining that their front garden no longer gets any sun and their plants are dying. It’s not something I took into consideration and I’m not sure if legally I’m wrong for doing this? If they didn’t constantly stare at us then there wouldn’t have been a need for the plants. They never use their back garden which has full sun most of the day.
Am I in my right mind to refuse to lower the hedging?

Say yes, yes of course and don't do it. I can't abide nosy neighbours.

Your garden your rules.. Keep the hedge... Just tell them you prefer privacy.. They can go buy a detached house if they wish..

Thanks for replying, It is detached 😂 unfortunately the front fences are only a meter tall so we still overlook each other

Could you sleep peacefully knowing that you’d ruined someone’s front garden?

Could you sleep peacefully knowing that your behaviour was making your neighbours so uncomfortable they had to plant a hedge to stop you staring at them?

IANAL but according to this guidance, it looks like if your hedge is less than 2 metres high, you are perfectly within your rights to have it there. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-hedges-complaining-to-the-council/high-hedges-complaining-to-the-council

Goodness. Keep the hedge! They presumably knew the garden was shaded on that side when they moved in?

Don't do this!

They might take it upon themselves to do the job!

Well.
it’s nesting season for a start. So no

also we need more hedges for wildlife not fences. So well done you! Start boring them on the benefits of hedges. They’ll soon stop asking

Id be tempted to tell them you did it for privacy because their staring was making you uncomfortable - be interesting to see what they say

I believe the rules are different for front gardens compared to back - the front rule is much lower. So the front fences will be low for a reason. Worth checking that out. If it's too high, they could legitimately complain I suppose, but would they bother? They might just be mithering at you. You will know how likely they are to go the council route.

Generally under 2 metres is fine. If a front garden near a junction then it has to be lower to not cause a problem with sight lines for drivers and pedestrians.

Tell them no, that you've put the hedge there for privacy and you chose a hedge rather than a wooden fence, cos its good for the wildlife and you won't be budging in that!

Tell them your just providing a home for the little birds in the interest of biodiversity 🙂 They can plant shade loving plants.
Who uses their front garden anyway?
My front garden is the only garden in my street with plants/bushes/a tree.
Everyone else has concrete slabs and chips and it looks bland and hideous. We need hedges and trees in urban areas, they literally give us life, as well as shade/privacy/noise reduction. I'd stand firm.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hedge-height-and-light-loss/hedge-height-and-light-loss
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/over-the-garden-hedge/over-the-garden-hedge
These pages also give some useful guidance, but again they say that the minimum hedge height for action to be taken would be two metres.

How high is your fence ? I don't know how they can tell in March that the lack of sun caused by your hedge is enough to kill their plants. The sun has barely got going yet if you're in the UK! I suspect they are exaggerating for effect.

Would you rather they went inside their house when you step foot outside? Do you never look out of your window? They’re just watching the world go by, and as their neighbours you’re part of that world.
Even though there would be nothing I could do about it, I’d be pretty annoyed if our neighbours planted a hedge that was high enough to block the sun from my garden, especially if I enjoyed sitting in the garden surrounded by plants. So I can understand their request, but obviously it’s your call.

How high can your fence be in the front, they could grow shade loving plants and move the sun lovers to the back garden. I'd just ignore them. If they ask again say it's for privacy.

of course the plants will still get sun as it rotates ?

There will be sun at different times of the day

There can be issues if hedge prevents sun from the south in anything other than summer. We get moss due to large hedge. The sun doesn’t peek over it enough. It doesn’t stop things growing but it certainly causes moss in the lawn.

Yes.

They can always plant something that does well in in the shade.

I think OP has made it perfectly clear that the NDN's interest is highly intrusive. It's not unreasonable to take steps against open nosiness. They can still watch the world go by, they just won't be able to see OP and her family.

If OP is sticking to the guidelines the NDN's can do nothing. Sorry, but the hedge is staying.

I don't believe all the stuff about plants dying either. It would be interesting to know the orientation of the hedge.

Suggest they get a TV if they need something to watch.