Typical nuisance Leylandii - 30ft high

There have been a number of private members bills which have not succeeded in reaching the statute books. The latest bill, the High Hedges Bill, failed to progress prior to last summer’s recess however it looks likely that it will eventually be passed as an act of parliament.

As a measure of the enthusiasm which exists for some form of statutory control it is reported that the consultation exercise elicited 3,000 responses - about ten times the norm. Ninety four percent of respondents were in favour of local authorities being able to settle such disputes.

The aim was to allow the occupiers of residential properties to complain to their local authority about a hedge where that hedge (a) comprises evergreen trees or shrubs (b) is over two metres in height and (c) is an unreasonably restricting light to ones property.

The proposals did not cover individual trees or deciduous hedges (such as the traditional Devon birch hedge) as it was felt that the main problem comes from dense evergreen hedges which people particularly object to in the darker winter months.

The proposals anticipated that the costs of an application will be somewhere in the region of £200. The person complaining must show that he or she has taken all reasonable steps which can be taken to resolve the matter amicably. If the local authority is satisfied that the application is justified it can issue a notice requiring the hedge owner to take certain action by a specified date.

The aim is to strike a balance between the rights of the hedge owner and the rights of the neighbour and to introduce a test which allows house owners to predict the outcome which the local authority will arrive at.

Nuisance hedge neighbour

The fact that there is a high hedge will not in itself lead to an order being made. The local authority would also have to consider factors such as (a) the effect which a reduction in height would have upon the privacy of the hedge owner (b) the effect which a reduction would have on the visual amenity in the area and (c) any legal obligation on the hedge owner in relation to the hedge.

The issue of light obstruction to the main section of the house will be the primary consideration as certain objective tests can be applied. The suggested system of measurements which is currently being tabled does not take into account outbuildings or conservatories.

Examples were given of the formulae which may be applied. The calculation will vary depending upon such matters as whether the hedge is facing the front of a neighbours property and whether it sits squarely or is side on. The simplest example is where the hedge is directly in front of the house. In addition to stipulating minimum distances, the suggestion was that one takes the distance of the hedge from the house, halves it and then adds two metres. If, therefore, the hedge is six metres from the house the height above which action is likely to be taken is five metres. Ground height is also taken into account.

Certain discrepancies were apparent in the proposals (for example a tall hedge could be grown immediately adjacent to a conservatory as the relevant distances would be taken from the main body of the house ). I will not go in to the various formulae for calculating loss of light in this article however suffice it to say that some commentators believe that the approach favours the hedge owner and that the proposals would only protect against the more extreme instances.

It may be, therefore, that the effect of the proposals if they do become law will not be as far reaching as some people had hoped. If the bill comes again before the parliament for consideration it will be interesting to see how the guidelines for determining what is actionable and what is not will develop.