To replace the hedge with a fence - Neighbour issues

[cocoblu]

We moved into our house May last year, we are slowly decorating to how we want it, the only issue is the garden. We are mid terrace, neighbours on the right as you face the house have a lovely high hedge 6ft, no issues. Neighbour on other side is another matter, the hedge on this side is about 4ft high. This may not be exact but I am 5ft and I can see over the hedge and it's about chest height so may be a little more. Dh and I want our privacy and have been trying to grow the hedge upwards but neighbour keeps cutting it back (he comes into our garden to do it when we are both at work) we have had a number of issues with this neighbour (in his late 70s but active) washing regularly gets marked due to him spraying his garden, he had previously requested our neighbour cut his hedge back so his wife could look over the garden, neighbour refused and they haven't spoken since. We have had parkng issues with him and him putting a bedstead hurdle at the back of both our house "to prevent burglars" Aibu to have the hedge taken out and replaced with a 6ft high fence and not discuss it with him? (Hedge roots are on our side of the boundary)

It might mean making your garden smaller, but there is no reason why you can't put a 6 foot fence on your side of the hedge.

The deeds may not permit it. I live in a street of terraced houses with small gardens and we are limited to 3 or 4 ft fences, can't recall which offhand. If I were to put up a 6ft fence on the side I own, I'd be taking a lot of the sun from my neighbour's garden.

Just put a fence up on your side of the hedge

I think that putting a fence next to the hedge already in your property is asking for troubles in the future.

tell him that either the hedge is left alone to grow to the full height or a fence will be put in instead?

Have you actually tried talking to him nicely about all this, as opposed to DH 'having words'?

Before you do anything check your deeds to see if that fences over 4ft are permitted. In our old house 4ft was the limit.

YANBU He is an arse. Why try and keep him happy when he obviously has no interest in maintaining good relations with you?

Also what dudsville said, take time off when the fence is being put in and warn whomever does the work that there may be neighbour trouble.

It would be such a shame to lost the hedge.
Ask him to stop coming into your garden
Speak to him and tell him you want to grow it to 6ft; if not its coming out and a fence will go up. Alternatively, keep the hedge could you put a trellis up with a climber - passion flower or something similar& have the best of both worlds.

Another one saying check the covenants. 5 foot limits are quite common

I think OhTheRoses has made some good points, especially about the sunlight. Dark gardens can be hard to manage and keep nice.

We had an issue with the nosy man that lived next door. He was constantly looking over the fence at our garden and complaining. He complained the dogs barked when he went outside, that we had a cat, that our pond was creating flies, that our washing had been out 2 days etc. Every time I went outside he was there staring, to the point I would hide when out there

He loved his 4ft fence and refused to let us touch it, so we ran our own 6ft one along the inside his.

I never have to see him sunbathing topless or teasing my dogs again and it was worth the ft of garden we lost

Why not check the deeds. If defo yours I would speak to him and say. Look we like the hedge but would like our garden to be more private so are growing the hedge height. If it gets cut down then we will look into replacing with a fence. If he has lived there most of his life and he likes having a hedge maybe this will work and he will let it grow. Id want privacy too but I would be thinking about his feels having lived there for so long and try and get MY WAY without really upsetting an elderly gentleman. Good luck

I think it would be a real shame to remove the hedge, surreptitiously or not. Hedges are far more aesthetically pleasing, brilliant for wildlife and easier to look after than fences. In a terrace you can feel really closed in with a 6 foot fence and either you or your neighbour is going to lose considerable light (and compromise a wildlife 'corridor'). I agree with Gideon - can you discuss the issue calmly and politely and come to a compromise? Perhaps you would both be content with 5 feet high? I would really try to maintain cordial relations if at all possible.

How do you know he thinks shopping deliveries are lazy? Did you ask for his opinion? How you do your shopping/spend your money has sweet FA to do with him - "Good job it's none of your business then" would be my answer if he gave me his unsolicited opinion.

I would feel better if I could have the deeds checked by a lawyer first, although I realise this could be expensive.

The back of my rear garden borders on the side of my (not very kind) neighbours' rear garden. When we moved in both of us had tall leylandii in front of our fences. After many, many years I decided that my hedge was too difficult for me to maintain and decided to fork out to have it removed. Then, when I looked over the fence, I realised that my neighbours had already had two thirds of their hedge removed - goodness knows how long before. I think they were depending on the fact that I wouldn't bother. The slope of the land meant that the high hedge was more important to them than to me.

They were away when I had the job done and came back in darkness and I am afraid they got a bit of a shock when they got up the next day - however I was really happy because my house was so much lighter. They have never said anything though because they know they had no rights on what I did in my own garden. If you are sure the hedge is on your side then you have every right to remove it - but do please be sure. I was sure because mine was in front of the boundary fence.

If its within reason (ie no 20ft leylandi) and its your boundary you can do what you want.

However before you do have a conversation making it clear he is not permitted in your garden and not to cut the hedge, and that if he does so again you will lodge a police complaint for trespass and criminal damage.

a question - what is this - bedstead hurdle?
I googled it and all I came up with is Beds.

Op mentioned him falling out with another neighbour who refused to lower their hedge meaning his wife couldn't look over, I think I'd be wanting to get a bit of privacy if that's what they're like, and spraying ops washing!

There is another solution that does not involve removing the hedge, which is an enormous task in itself, plus hedges make a great habitat and source of food for many birds and insects.
You simply have to stop your neighbour gaining access to your property by means of a lockable gate.
It most only close off your garden as some passageways will have shared access.

Sorry long reply.....Be careful. Neighbour disputes can get massively out of hand and become very expensive, you only have to check the newspapers every few months to see another ridiculous situation that people reading think 'why did they let it go so far' but when you're involved you can develop tunnel vision. Usually, but not always, the left hand boundary belongs to you. Deeds and land registry can confirm this. However, in law, if he planted the hedge, it's his. It doesn't matter if it's on your land. You are within your rights to cut it down if it's is on your land BUT you must return it to him as it belongs to him (literally leave the cuttings in his garden) or face charges of theft. Sounds mad doesn't it, but that's how far some of these disputes end up going. Do you really want to go down this route? You have said something that rings alarms bells (he seems a little belligerent with potential to get worse from what you have said). If he planted the hedge (or even if it was just there when he moved in) and he has been there years and no one has ever told him the hedge is not on his land, and he keeps maintaining it, he could claim 'adverse possession' of that strip of land on which the hedge currently sits - I think the current period is 12 years of unchallenged use, meaning he could have Land Registry changed accordingly and you then can't touch the hedge. It doesn't matter that the majority of that time was before you moved in btw. If I were you I would accept that he is using a few inches of your land, put up a fence, on your side of the hedge to the height you want. Let him keep the hedge (that you can't now see) but make it clear to,him that the hedge is in part on your land but it's ok you give him your permission to use it. Once you knowingly give permission, and he hopefully will accept(!) he is tacitly accepting the land is yours and his hedge is on your land. This means he cannot ever claim possession over it in future. If you need an excuse for the fence just say you're getting a puppy and need to fence the garden. I would also get some advise from a specialist lawyer, it would probably be GBP200 max. I have had two boundary disputes where parts of my land were being used, one thankfully resolved quickly and painlessly as the other party decided to be sensible knowing how bad it could end up and the other ongoing. The ongoing sounds a bit like yours. A long boundary fence of about 80 foot now being pushed over into my garden as the neighbours poplar trees have ground so large the trunks are massive. I can no longer put up a new fence on my boundary as they are growing on to my land. Fingers crossed!

Check it's yours and then chop it down
If not put the fence on your side of the boundary

If it's your hedge & he won't let you grow it as you want then yes, take it down & put a fence in.

Thanks for all the suggestions here, neighbour is old school, he will not discuss anything re:house/garden but will speak with my Dh, we have tried very hard to have a cordial relationship as we really are not interested in any kind of dispute but this is the same man who tred to tell me I should have my washing line a at the bottom of the garden not at the top,
from our rear bedroom I can see into other gardens on both sides and ours is the only one with such a low hedge, in all honesty all I am looking for is to be able to be in the back garden without him looking over, I don't want a battle and am prepared to compromise.
The bedstead hurdle - think old bedhead/headboard positioned in a randomly across the back of both house. Neighbour had actually screwed them into both fences, Dh only discovered them when he tried to take something round the back of the house and went flying over them in the dark
I think the fence in front of the hedge maybe the way to go or the trellis but again am concious of future issues should we chose to sell
I didn't realise that about the fence height being in the deeds, that is something else for me to check
We have tried to be reasonable with him but he is a very difficult man, within the first 2 months of living there we witnessed leave rude notes and other substances onpeople's car who had parked in 'his'space so whatever solution we arI've at he won't be happy

ahh, Thanks for explaining the bedstead hurdle.

Then you need to stand up to him and tell him how its going to be or he'll just carry on. Anything else he'll just take as agreeing to his view and doing what he wants.

Can you not say to him that if he comes into your garden again, or trims your hedge (other than the branches going into his garden) that you will remove the hedge and put up a fence? That way he might just leave it alone and you end up with a higher hedge and your privacy.