AIBU to not trim my hedges - neighbour says they are too tall

[Otins]

I rent out a house that I used to live in. It's been 10 years since I lived there and 17 years ago I had the garden totally landscaped and replaced the fence between me and my neighbour. The old fence was really low - around 4ft- and I wanted it to be 6ft. We compromised on 5ft with a trellis on the top - they agreed as long as the trellis was concave topped so it dipped down in the middle. I agreed by thinking shrubs etc would eventually grow taller anyway.

The shrubs planted along the fence line were young plants back then. They are now mature and taller than the fence.

The neighbour is now complaining to me that the shrubs are too tall. I have seen photos and they are taller than the fence, but not unreasonably so. They are neat and tidy. The agents carried out an inspection last week and noted that the garden is being kept in very good order by the tenants. They are retired tenants and they told me it was the garden that sold the property to them as they love gardening.

I don't have a measured height for the shrubs but I would say they may be over 6ft. I have had a look at the guidelines for nuisance hedges and being over 6ft is the first requirement if they were to launch an official complaint. (There are many other things they take into account such as proximity and angle to the house, etc but it has to be >6ft for it to even be considered.)

The tenants want the shrubs to be kept higher as they prefer the greater privacy that the taller shrubs give (it stops the slightly nosey neighbour looking over when they are in the garden)

The neighbour has previously complained about a silver birch tree putting their garden in the shade, and I did get that cut back as I agreed it was getting a bit big.

Am I being unreasonable to ignore them (at worst) or (at best) reply saying that I won't be getting the shrubs cut back as the tenants are keeping the garden in good order, and they have recently trimmed them to a height they are happy with. I have asked the tenants to contact me if the shrubs get unruly or to a height they can't maintain and I will then get a gardener in.

You don’t have a ‘hedge’ by the legal definition, so they can’t complain anyway. If you’re happy it looks good, isn’t overgrown and is maintained properly then ignore the neighbours (which you probably should have done in the first place with the fence height/trellis etc., tbh).

Just tell them no. One word answer.

Why? If there's no problem with them the neighbour doesn't get to dictate what happens with her garden

Eh? My hedge was massively overgrown thanks to the constant rain so have just cut it now it's finally dry!

Eh? My hedge was massively overgrown thanks to the constant rain so have just cut it now it's finally dry!

As I said, if there birds nesting in the hedge, it is against the law (The Wildlife and Countryside Act S1)and anyone who saw you, could have reported you (or the contractor) to the police!

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/plants-for-wildlife/garden-hedges/hedge-law/

I wish my bloody neighbours knew this.

We've had robins nesting in the boundary hedge for the best part of 20 years. The fucker next door decided to cut his side and the top in May, and I haven't seen a robin since.

If he touches the bay tree on the boundary in the front while the goldfinches are still nesting I won't be responsible for my actions.

Well it’s hardly a difficult concept to grasp is it?🙄

Given my hedge is in danger of obstructing the footpath on a main road (and contained no nests) then I'm pretty sure no one will be "reporting me"

@AnxiousFairyQueen no need to be so patronising!! My hedge hasn't been able to be cut due to the constant rain.. it is massively overgrown and is a danger when reversing the car out of the drive... I cut it because it is my responsibility to maintain my garden!

Your neighbour sounds like a bully. Your tenants sound very reasonable. Let nature thrive.

Just be a decent human being and support your tenants right to privacy from the nosey neighbours.

If you had no intention of sticking to the compromise agreement with your neighbours - of 5ft - then you should not have made it

I think you are wrong to go back on your word

If you had neighbours like mine, understand that this only works when the neighbours are decent humans themselves

ours were fucking lunatics, and successions of people living in our house before us gave them the opportunity to make our lives a misery through t their need for control

our entire village is too naice to say boo to a goose so we have a few households in the village who really take the piss and make living next to them very unpleasant

our lot are all cheering us on finally giving them their comeuppance but it never needed to get this far if the rest of the village borrowed a pair of balls and actually said to our neighbours that they were totally out of order at the outset and perhaps then it all would have been nipped in the bud.

@Otins IF you think you need to reply, do so by being very clear “I’ve spoken to our tenants, the agent (if applicable) and reviewed the photos etc. the tenants are happy with the hedges as they are, I am too, so they will remain at that level and get trimmed back in the autumn if they’re any taller than they are now.”

be firm and clear and allow no room for them to try to force the issue