criminal damage from neighbour

[EmmaSussexUK]

We own our house, the adjoining house is owned by the council. The hedge is jointly owned by us and the council, it should be maintained by both sides.

We have endured a long campaign of harassment by the council tenant, evidence has been supplied to both the council and the police, very little has been done. The latest incident is that the council tenant has hacked down 8 foot of the hedge and placed her garden table in the gap so she can stare through. The council have said they will replace the hedge with a wired fence, we are unhappy with this as it has huge gaps in it and we believe it will escalate the behaviour of their tenant. Can we legally enforce that they should replace with a wooden fence? Also, can we insist that the police treat this as criminal damage? Thank you in advance.
The damage extends further than the image shows.

Police are likely to consider it a civil matter. Why don't you erect your own fence on your side?

Is it your hedge or the council’s hedge?

Could admin delete this please? It is clear that the people replying do not understand the law. Thank you

If you're so clear on the law why are you posting here asking for advice

If they have damaged council and your hedge then that's criminal damage as its not their property. All the bits hanging down, are they on your garden, I think it's also against the law to cut down hedges without good reason in bird nesting season. Who owns that fence panel. There is no law that says there must be a fence but I'd be fed up with that and would put my own up.

Whose boundary is it to maintain? Boundary disputes are civil matters and there is no obligation to mark with a fence or hedge. Take it up with the council, there will be a clause in the lease about behaviour towards neighbours.

Just install a 2m fence on your side right to the boundary. Then grow climbers that go over the top to give extra height and noise absorption.

Two people have replied - it’s clear YOU don't understand the law! How can two different bodies own a hedge? Whose house deeds is the hedge on? From the numerous threads on here regarding boundary fences / walls / trees and hedges, the ‘law’ about who owns what is not at all clear.
Put your own fence up and stop taking photos of the neighbours!

You got two replies and post that? Mental.

How about you keep logging the harassment with police, you set up a camera to capture any of her behaviour, you keep logging her behaviour and harassment with the council, you engage a solicitor to send a letter to both her and the housing department, you add an additional fence on your side (on your land) to protect you from her gawping and then when she invariable damages it, call the police for criminal damage.

Not sure what else you want people to say really.

"...it should be maintained by both sides."

and then

"...has hacked down 8 foot of the hedge and placed her garden table in the gap"

As long as the table isn't on your property then that sounds very much like it comes under "be maintained" and your neighbour has chosen how she wishes to maintain it.

"The council have said they will replace the hedge with a wired fence,"

This is also them maintaining it.

"Can we legally enforce that they should replace with a wooden fence?"

No. Unless it is specified in the deeds then there is no requirement to maintain a boundary fence at all.

If you want a wooden fence then simply put up one yourself.

I don't see what would be criminal about this unless it were the case that the hedge belonged solely to you and was entirely on your property.

They can put their table where they like. No you can't enforce the fence the council put up, but you can put your own fence up on your side. It's a civil not a criminal matter.

You can’t dictate where your neighbour sits in her own garden or where she puts her furniture. As for the hedge if it’s yours and encroaching on her garden I believe she’s allowed to cut it down (I might be wrong)
And you could always put your own fence up if you don’t like the gap, your neighbour can’t be forced to do it.

I'm not sure why you think those replying don't understand the law. The first poster is correct that the police are likely to consider this a civil matter. They are also correct that you can put up a fence to block their view if you wish. You cannot force the LA to put up a fence.

I'm not convinced this is criminal damage. If the hedge is jointly owned as OP says, it is highly unlikely that the council will maintain it itself. The lease probably puts that responsibility on OP's neighbours, who can maintain it however they want. Even if it could be argued as criminal damage, I doubt the police would get involved. They would regard this as a civil dispute.

The restrictions on cutting down hedges during the nesting season does not apply to boundary hedges in residential properties. It only applies to hedges entered into an agri-environment scheme.

However, I agree that OP should put up her own fence.

A boundary is not the same as a fence. My deeds specifically state that the boundary walls and fences erected when the estate was built are to be maintained meaning we have to have a fence/wall between the properties and keep them in good condition.

If on another estate there is no such requirement then if a fence falls down there is no onus on the person responsible for that boundary to erect another fence. This comes up time and time again and if you want to go right down the rabbit hole of batshit neighbours, GardenLaw forum will be an eye opener.

If this is about privacy from the neighbour then put your own fence up. Home owning sometimes comes with costs we don't want to incur,. The council are not going to do it on their land, do it on yours.

I do sympathise having lived next door to a batshit neighbour, hence knowing all about GardenLaw. Log every incident and report it.

With a second post like that it makes you wonder who is the nuisance neighbour.........

😆 well that escalated

😂 what the fuck. Put up a fence of your own you absolute dafty

I’m beginning to wonder who is harassing whom

In two posts! Amazing stuff.

Thank the council very much for putting up a wire fence and ask them to get on with it asap, then erect your own wooden fence at least a foot in front of it. Take lots of photographs. The neighbour would have to buy wire cutters to damage the council fence and risks being evicted if they do.
Then plant the spikiest, most prickly shrubs on your side and let them grow really high.
Report the neighbour for cutting down a hedge in nesting season. Do you know if there were any nests or fledglings in it?
It really isn't about the law because this neighbour is not going to comply. It is about reinstating your privacy for less than legal fees or an insurance claim would cost you.

Put up a fence. Simple. Then again, you don’t sound like a model neighbour…

Report the neighbour for cutting down a hedge in nesting season

To say again, the rules on cutting down hedges in the nesting season do not apply to domestic hedges, including hedges marking the boundary of a house. There is therefore nothing to report.

No, you can’t insist anyone puts up a wooden fence. You can put up your own wooden fence on your own land.

Or, you could say to the council that you do not want a wire fence so you will pay for a wooden one on the boundary.

Put your own fence up for privacy reasons if the neighbour is bothering you.