To build a fence and chop their hedge.

[Sportynotspice]

There's a laurel hedge between our garden and next doors and it's only 5 foot at its highest; the garden slopes towards the back so there are sections even shorter and we can see straight into next doors garden and theirs ours. We have asked them politely to allow us to grow the hedge up as we'd like more privacy but they have refused and continued to cut the hedge ever shorter. They have extra long hedge trimmers and cut our half as well because apparently the previous owners never kept it neat enough for their liking and never protested when they started taking over the trimming. We've been polite but very clear that we don't like the height and would like it to grow up an extra foot but they have once again cut it too short and cut our side. The hedge actually sits much more into our boundary than theirs so DH, who has reached his final straw after coming home to yet another few inches off the hedge tonight, has declared he's ordering fence panels this weekend, chopping the hedge back right to the boundary and putting up the fence. The hedge will look utterly rubbish on their side because of how little actually encroaches their side of the boundary so I said to DH maybe we should just build the fence from when the hedge finishes now but DH, rightly, points out that means we lose a foot of our garden because the hedge takes up so much space as it is. As we have tried to be reasonable with them, DH doesn't care about upsetting them by chopping back so much of the hedge.
We have only lived here 9 months and they have been here 20 years plus and their argument for not letting the hedge grow is this is how its always been and no one that's lived here before has ever had an issue with it. But this is our home now and I really don't think it's unreasonable to have a proper barrier between our garden and next doors!
I will go speak to them tomorrow to advise that this is what we are going to do but we're not asking permission, just informing as a courtesy. Are we being unreasonable? I don't think they've really left us much more choice.

Spray paint a line along the top of the hedge to show the boundary. Tell them to stop cutting on your side of the boundary. If they still ignore you and keep cutting your hedge then yes I’d put up a fence.

Could you put up a trellis on your exact boundary, inside the hedge? Then they can cut their side but on your side it's separated from them by the trellis and they can't get at it.

You'd be overlooked for this year maybe, but not thereafter.

Check your deeds to find out where the boundary lies and who owns the hedge. The land registry is not an accurate definition of boundaries.

If you start a boundary dispute this will affect your ability to sell the house in the future.

I would let them know what you're going to do. Simple, polite - we're putting up a fence for a bit more privacy, and it means we'll need to cut back the hedge because its grown over our side a lot.

Give them the opporutnity to move the hedge by replanting it more their side - if the alternative is leaving them a bedraggled nothingness on their side which may not survive etc

@Bryonyshcmyony

I'd rather have a nosy neighbour than a fence

Me too. I can’t think of anything I’d want to do in my garden that I’d be concerned about anyone else seeing. Presumably they’d always be able to see into the garden from upstairs anyway?

If you do go for a fence, remember you'll only gain a foot as fences are not allowed to be more than 2m in back gardens
You can apply for planning permission to have a higher fence. It will often be granted if there’s a good reason, eg a sloping garden.

I too am not sure about the absolute need for privacy - which can be enjoyed in your house anyway.

Gardens with high fences - unless a garden is exceptionally large - always remind me of prison yards,. Huge lengths of shade are created by high fences and when I go out doors I like to be able to access light. There are lowish hedges between our house and the neighbours on either side. We tend to greet each other when going out - and will sometimes have enjoyable conversations at the gaps between the hedge - or even cross the boundary. But of course a lot of the time we'll just enjoy sitting there separately talking to family and friends, without feeling the need to wall ourselves off from one another. (Obviously if you own a dog there may be a need for secure fencing.)

If they own the hedge you can cut it right back to the boundary and put up a fence on your side. If you own the hedge you can take it out.

All this whiffling and asking for permission is ridiculous. Drop a polite note detailing your intention and don’t get into arguments.

If you are worried it may not go well, you could just say that you're getting a dog/rabbit whatever, and you need to secure the garden.

@JennieLee

I too am not sure about the absolute need for privacy - which can be enjoyed in your house anyway.

Gardens with high fences - unless a garden is exceptionally large - always remind me of prison yards,. Huge lengths of shade are created by high fences and when I go out doors I like to be able to access light. There are lowish hedges between our house and the neighbours on either side. We tend to greet each other when going out - and will sometimes have enjoyable conversations at the gaps between the hedge - or even cross the boundary. But of course a lot of the time we'll just enjoy sitting there separately talking to family and friends, without feeling the need to wall ourselves off from one another. (Obviously if you own a dog there may be a need for secure fencing.)

You don’t understand that some people are different from you? Strange.

Not everyone lives in Camberwick Green.

Confirm who is responsible for the boundary line, and then just cut the hedge and build accordingly.

They have refused to do as you've asked and continued to cut plans on your property, which is unlawful btw. I'd point that out to them when they complain. Firmly. And make it clear that they have left you no choice but to go this route by their unlawful, unreasonable behaviour. So the hedge is getting cut back to their side and a fence is going up. End of.

Put it all on them and carry on.

@JennieLee

I too am not sure about the absolute need for privacy - which can be enjoyed in your house anyway.

Gardens with high fences - unless a garden is exceptionally large - always remind me of prison yards,. Huge lengths of shade are created by high fences and when I go out doors I like to be able to access light. There are lowish hedges between our house and the neighbours on either side. We tend to greet each other when going out - and will sometimes have enjoyable conversations at the gaps between the hedge - or even cross the boundary. But of course a lot of the time we'll just enjoy sitting there separately talking to family and friends, without feeling the need to wall ourselves off from one another. (Obviously if you own a dog there may be a need for secure fencing.)

You don't understand that not everyone is like you? Really?

If the hedge is 5ft and the maximum you're allowed to have it is 6.5ft it seems a lot of work for a small gain?

when I go out doors I like to be able to access light

Do you not have sky where you are?

I absolutely do not want to see my massive twat of a neighbour in the garden or anywhere.

The neighbours on the other side are lovely though.

@CherryMaple

The hedge is like a wildlife corridor helping birds get from one garden to the next. They fly in at the back of the hedge, and then out at the front.

I mean they realise they have they whole of the sky to do that as well ?

@TatianaBis

I absolutely do not want to see my massive twat of a neighbour in the garden or anywhere.

The neighbours on the other side are lovely though.

Check the boundaries. Cut the hedge. Put your fence up. Don’t tell the neighbours what your intentions are. They do not inform you or show you any consideration when cutting both sides of the hedge.

@JennieLee

I too am not sure about the absolute need for privacy - which can be enjoyed in your house anyway.

Gardens with high fences - unless a garden is exceptionally large - always remind me of prison yards,. Huge lengths of shade are created by high fences and when I go out doors I like to be able to access light. There are lowish hedges between our house and the neighbours on either side. We tend to greet each other when going out - and will sometimes have enjoyable conversations at the gaps between the hedge - or even cross the boundary. But of course a lot of the time we'll just enjoy sitting there separately talking to family and friends, without feeling the need to wall ourselves off from one another. (Obviously if you own a dog there may be a need for secure fencing.)

Well, gardens with high fences feel like secluded green oasis’ to me, for pure relaxation and contentment. Maybe the op feels like me.

Imagine saying to someone with a garden if you want to feel alone you should stay in the house!

Most small birds dont like to use "the whole sky" @tanstaafl because that's where the predators are. That's why they dart in and out of cover.

That said, a 5' laurel hedge is hardly an amazing wildlife habitat and there's nothing to stop the neighbours allowing it to increase its width on their side. I actually get why they dont want it taller. That puts more work onto them. Maybetheyll be perfectly happy for the OP and her dh to pay for the privacy they desire.

Check deeds to ensure you are 100% clear on boundary line. It will be a big job - roots, soil level etc all need dealing with before you can fence. Check planning regs for how high you can go.
It might be worth getting some quotes from companies to see extent of work. A company doing work rather than diy also provides a buffer between you and neighbours.
I’d tell them you are fencing your boundary. You don’t need to go into detail if a fence is your preference that’s up to you.

Not a legal beagle butI know the story on this because have been there and have the T shirt. Your deeds may show an accurate boundary but may not. It may show definitively who owns the fence but is unlikely to show ownership of a hedge. Where the roots are does not show ownership.
Householders are entitled to cut branches and roots back to their boundary line unless the tree/hedge has got a preservation order on it but must offer branches back to the hedge owner if they know who it is. If removing roots to put in a fence kills the hedge ot tree then that is unfortunate but not illegal, again unless there is a preservation order in place.
Laurel is indeed poisonous and not the best hedging choice for wildlife. Indigenous trees and shrubs are better and a mixture is best of all.

I am on the side of team fence. Its going to be nigh on impossible to stop the neighbours trimming any hedge and its just going to get nastier. Putting up a fence changes the dynamic and will stop the arguments over trimming...I don't think anything will stop the disagreement and bad feeling regardless. Sad but true in my experience.
Some wildlife provision is impossible for some circumstances...no hedge doesn't mean scorched earth. Carefully chosen shrubs may actually be more wildlife friendly than a laurel hedge, especially if it is continually kept short as nesting birds will not stay where there is continual activity and laurel does not support native insect life.

If it's a bit of extra privacy during summer that you're wanting, I would cut your side of the hedge back a bit and put in a fedge. Something like this www.yorkshirewillow.co.uk/willow-screening. It would look nicer than a fence and not take up too much ground space. Cost seems reasonable when compared to a fence and potentially an easier DIY job than a fence.

I sympathise though, our neigbour is the same with our boundary hedge. When we first moved in, she told us how upset she was that the lady who here before us suddenly chopped the fence from 8ft to 4ft, as she her lost privacy. We told her that we're happy to let it grow talller again, but she insists on chopping back our side every time she cuts the hedge (which is at least once a week from March to October)! We've even been told off on occassion if we don't cut our side as often as she'd like us to as she likes the edges to look perfectly square. I personally think once a month during the summer is quite enough for a box hedge, plus we both work fulltime!

@JennieLee

I too am not sure about the absolute need for privacy - which can be enjoyed in your house anyway.

Gardens with high fences - unless a garden is exceptionally large - always remind me of prison yards,. Huge lengths of shade are created by high fences and when I go out doors I like to be able to access light. There are lowish hedges between our house and the neighbours on either side. We tend to greet each other when going out - and will sometimes have enjoyable conversations at the gaps between the hedge - or even cross the boundary. But of course a lot of the time we'll just enjoy sitting there separately talking to family and friends, without feeling the need to wall ourselves off from one another. (Obviously if you own a dog there may be a need for secure fencing.)

your life your garden your choice, certainly not mine....and saying if you want privacy stay in the house is just cuckoo.....I bet you are one of those neighbours who want to chat regardless of what others want.

If it is a boundary hedge it is illegal to remove it.