Trees/bushes for privacy

[Thingsthatgo]

I will start by saying that I know next to nothing about gardening, but I am willing to learn!
I have just moved into a new house. The fence along the side is next to the pavement, and because we are on a bit of hill, it is fairly easy to peer into the garden.
The fence is at maximum legal height, so I would like some ideas please, for some plants that will help with privacy. They don’t need to be huge, maybe up to 7 feet. The fence gets a lot of direct sunlight, and is hot and dry. It doesn’t have to be perfect straight away, happy for a longer term project.
Any ideas that are not going to break the bank please? Preferably something that will be low maintenance, if that is possible?

The only thing I do know is don't get any kind of Leylandii (not sure of spelling). Our neighbours made this mistake and had to rip it out it grew so much. Personally I would raise the fence, esp if you don't know much about gardening.

How windy is it? Some of our neighbours have planted bamboo and it has grown well in areas that are a little more protected from the elements.

I’ve got a couple of Photinia as standards ( like a lollipop) and a Vibernum tinus between. Both are evergreen.

Prunus lusitanica - very bushy but can be pruned to what you want. Evergreen.
Amelanchier is a tree that doesn't get enormous, has small flowers and colour in autumn leaves.

Brilliant! Thank you all for your ideas. I shall look them all up.
I can’t raise the fence because of planning.

In some council areas you CAN add trellis to the top of fencing without falling foul of height laws. You can then grow something like a fast growing clematis (montana) to fill in the trellis.

Worth checking in your area, maybe?

Photinia and Laurel get recommended here a lot, they are a bit boring and sterile, but there are much better options, look at native trees and shrubs, much better for the wildlife.

Clumping bamboo like fargesia robusta. It does well against the elements and won't take over your garden

Would a row of something nice like apple trees take your light? They don’t grow stupidly high and are nice trees.

Yes, I am leaning towards bamboo in pots for now, with some apple/cherry trees for longer term. Thanks for all of the brilliant ideas.

I have just bought a eucalyptus and put it in a pot to contain it

Just because you need planning permission doesn't mean you won't get it. It can be acceptable for fencing higher then 2m you just have to apply for permission.

Yes, that’s true about planning permission. Maybe it’s worth asking. Thank you.

How about a semi mature holly to add to the mix? It would be quite expensive, but give you instant screening, deter invaders and be very pretty. They are quite slow growing.

We've got a black bamboo to screen off a neighbours' window. It grew to the right height to screen really quickly and hasn't spread (we did put some sort of membrane in to control it).