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Original poster

Neighbour wants to cut down hedge and replace with fence

30 replies

EndoplasmicReticulum · 18/07/2021 15:15

Hello, as says - our neighbour wants to cut down the hedge between our gardens and replace it with a fence. We are semi detached. It is not clear on our title plan exactly where the boundary is but I suspect the roots of the hedge are on her side not ours (it's a big, mature hedge, quite wide).

I would prefer to keep the hedge.

Do we have a say in this? Or is it up to neighbour?

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 18/07/2021 15:17

It is down to who owns th hedge, if roots are on her side it’s likely her, if this is the case you’ve no say snd you need to plant your own hedge.

IRanSoFarAway1 · 18/07/2021 15:19

This reply has been deleted

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Whatwouldnanado · 18/07/2021 15:23

Let them crack on then plant your own hedge in the Autumn.

RainingZen · 18/07/2021 15:24

I think she wins. Sorry. Make sure she doesnt land-grab and steal your land - just ask her to mark where the fence posts are going to go so you can check the boundary.

DogsSausages · 18/07/2021 15:24

If it's her hedge maybe you could ask if she will give it to you so you can plant it on your side in front of the new fence

Cupoftea53 · 18/07/2021 15:25

Perhaps ask them why. Fences are ugly and a natural hedge is a much better boundary.

RuthTopp · 18/07/2021 15:25

I don't think you can do it at this time of the year due to birds nesting. I have in my head not until either 31st July or 30th August. If you look it up it will tell you.

IcedSpice · 18/07/2021 15:26

@Cupoftea53

Perhaps ask them why. Fences are ugly and a natural hedge is a much better boundary.
I prefer a fence, and am not keen on hedges.... Hmm
DingleyDel · 18/07/2021 15:28

Often with semi detached the boundary is the hedge isn’t it? Especially if it’s a mature hedge it may well have been put in as the divide? How old is the house? I would triple check. We have beautiful old beech hedges diving our 30s semi and it would break my heart if someone did this.

drpet49 · 18/07/2021 15:31

Your neighbour can get rid of her hedge and there is nothing you can do about it.

Bluntness100 · 18/07/2021 15:34

Actually asking her for the hedge is not a bad shout. Get it dug up and replanted into your land. It won’t be easy but doable. She can then put her fence up.

WutheringTights · 18/07/2021 15:35

18 months ago we ripped out our ugly privet hedge and planted bare root mixed native hedgerow plants. For a year it looked dead but this summer it's amazing and will very soon be bigger than the privet we ripped out. Maybe look upon it as a chance to replace the hedge with something that's good for wildlife?

insancerre · 18/07/2021 15:36

Ask her if she will keep the hedge on your side and put the fence up against her side of the hedge
She might lose a couple of inches of garden but it will save her the cost of getting rid of the hedge
Then she gets her fence and you get to keep the hedge

paddlingon · 18/07/2021 15:36

I like the wildlife aspect of hedges but fences are better for dogs, small dc and often privacy.

Robin233 · 18/07/2021 15:40

At our last house we had a huge conifer hedge between us abd new neighbours.
When we moved in neighbour asked about replacing it with a fence - he'd pay.
Old neighbour would never agree as she she liked to sunbathe top less.
We readily agreed as the hedge was going wild, very wide and tall abd a nightmare ti cut.
My dh actually worked with him to remove the hedge.
He paid fir a 6 foot fence and we each painted our own side.
Between us we gained 3 foot of garden back.
BUT he did ask us and would have accepted a no.

Original poster
EndoplasmicReticulum · 18/07/2021 16:23

Thanks all. Have dug out deeds and am having a look.

It's a lovely hedge, mix of plants, roses, bushes, lots of berries. Birds come and sit in it and eat the berries, various wildlife wanders through it, etc.

But I realise that if it's hers there is not anything we can do.

Interesting about timings re. nesting birds, that didn't seem to bother her when she had some trees removed last month.

OP posts:
DogsSausages · 18/07/2021 16:31

Trees and shrubs can still be removed, it depends on the circumstances and if she has a gardener and tree surgeon in to help they should know the rules. Maybe she cannot manage the garden anymore or animals are getting through that she doesnt want anymore. . As her for them and replant them your side.

NoIdeasForWittyNickname · 19/07/2021 00:24

Perhaps ask them why. Fences are ugly and a natural hedge is a much better boundary.

We're in the similar situation but "on the other side of the fence". We have mature hedges on both sides of our garden (inherited from the previous owners). They look lovely, full of wild life, we prefer greenery to fences in general, etc. BUT hedges are planted inside OUR boundary. So, our neighbours on either side have hedges neatly trimmed to the boundary line and enjoy a lovely green hedge view but no loss of space. We, on the other hand, have about 3-4m of the garden width in total eaten up by those hedges, and there's not so much of the garden space is left for us. Many of those hedge plants are of the type that don't grow back from old wood, so we can't trim them hard, and we are too considering replacing at least some of the hedges with a fence.

PigletJohn · 19/07/2021 05:11

It may be the effort and cost of keeping it trimmed.

MoonlightWanderer · 19/07/2021 05:30

@PigletJohn

It may be the effort and cost of keeping it trimmed.
I think this too! We have hedges at the front and back and they are hard work keeping them nice as well as some bushes we have too. A lot of people just don't want to spend their weekends gardening or paying someone to do it for them.
Indigopearl · 19/07/2021 06:07

If cost is rhe motivation maybe she will change her mind when she gets some quotes for fences. The prices seem to have doubled in the last year. We had a quote recently for 15 panels plus trellis on top which was £3k.

Alannawhorideslikeaman · 19/07/2021 06:28

@Indigopearl

If cost is rhe motivation maybe she will change her mind when she gets some quotes for fences. The prices seem to have doubled in the last year. We had a quote recently for 15 panels plus trellis on top which was £3k.
Agreed! We are having a fence put in (thankfully family can do the work so just paying for materials, it's their day job) and we couldn't believe how much the prices had gone up since we bought fencing for the last house!

I can see why it's upset you OP because living boundaries really can be lovely and it's horrible to see something well established being ripped up and replaced by something as stark as a fence. But you might find you both get some garden back as it's amazing how big boundary hedges can be. They're also a lot of upkeep to keep tidy and can limit planting options so I can see why she might want to change. We are putting a fence up where our neighbour has a conifer hedge - we worry about the dog getting through at the base. We are just putting ours up on our side of the boundary but neighbour has now said they might take the hedge out once the fence is in for the reasons I've mentioned.

We cleared the area and then strung out a string and some posts with the neighbours to mark a boundary we were all happy with so there can't be any complaints later.

NeilBuchananisBanksy · 19/07/2021 06:30

This is why the planet is screwed. Trees, hedges are hugely important. I wouldn't be happy at all with this. What do your deeds say about ownership?

Simbacatisback · 19/07/2021 06:37

@paddlingon

I like the wildlife aspect of hedges but fences are better for dogs, small dc and often privacy.
It what way is a fence better for a small child? Intrigued.

hedges have birds, they offset carbon and help secure the future of the planet?

Simbacatisback · 19/07/2021 06:38

Hedges make a house more secure than fences-intruders prefer a fence apparently.

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