High Hedges Complaints

The right hedge can be an ideal garden boundary but the wrong hedge may bring problems. These pages offer advice and guidance on how to resolve a high hedge dispute and explains what will happen if the Council get involved – using their powers in Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. 

A leaflet is available from Communities and Local Government giving advice on how to settle your hedge differences without involving the local authority. This process must be attempted before a complaint can be made to your local authority.

How to make a formal complaint to the Council
From 1 June 2005 you will be able to make a complaint to the District Council about a high hedge.  For a complaint to be valid the following four conditions will all need to be met:

Once we receive your complaint we will inspect the site and come to a decision as to whether any action is justified.

The most that can be required in any notice we serve is that the hedge is reduced to a height of not more than 2 metres and maintained at that height.

Both the complainant and the owner of the hedge have the right to appeal against our decision.