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My neighbour has complained that my leylandii are too high and are blocking light to her garden. The council seem to agree with her even though it's my house bought and paid for. Her's is not a council house and non of the houses in the street are or have ever been.
My house is a semi and it's the neighbour from the attached house who has complained. The leylandii are at the bottom of my garden so only the width of them really affects her garden. Gardens face south as she looks from her garden the trees are to the east.
Smallish garden which is about 11 metres by 7 metres.
The bloke from the council said I have to reduce them to four metres which would only leave stumps.
The regs he quoted are:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/9408/hedgeheight.pdf
According to my calculations I think they could be 8-10 metres which I'd be happy with.
My house is a semi and it's the neighbour from the attached house who has complained. The leylandii are at the bottom of my garden so only the width of them really affects her garden. Gardens face south as she looks from her garden the trees are to the east.
Smallish garden which is about 11 metres by 7 metres.
The bloke from the council said I have to reduce them to four metres which would only leave stumps.
The regs he quoted are:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/9408/hedgeheight.pdf
According to my calculations I think they could be 8-10 metres which I'd be happy with.
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Charlie - as she looks out, the trees are to her left along your southern boundary?
How tall are they?
How tall are they?
Cupressocyparis Leylandii - To quote that great gardener Christopher Lloyd when asked about them - "Seen everywhere, belong nowhere". This tree is just not suitable for garden hedging.
Feb 28, 2020 -- 5:13PM, Injera wrote:
Charlie - as she looks out, the trees are to her left along your southern boundary? How tall are they?
Yes to her left and along my southern boundary. Height I'm not user about but very, very high.
Feb 28, 2020 -- 5:13PM, blackbarn wrote:
Cupressocyparis Leylandii - To quote that great gardener Christopher Lloyd when asked about them - "Seen everywhere, belong nowhere".
Text went missing; short version was I agree but were then when I bought the house.
20 feet is plenty. It would keep her happy and you would get more light too.
Charlie - That they were already there is irrelevant. Sound like the council guy is trying to resolve the issue by giving you guidance. If he issues you with a remedial notice you can be fined if you do not comply AND you will need to ensure that the hedge is kept trimmed to the required height all the time you are there. You'll be helped with that though because Leylandii dislike hard pruning and do not regrow from old wood.
Just thought, with any luck if you hard prune the top AND she (as is her right) cuts off everything that overhangs her garden, they will probably die anyway. By the way she needs to give you all the trimmings.
Injera and blackbarn
I'm not arguing they need reducing because they do. I'm just trying to work out the required height. The council bloke was ok after initially being snotty and threatening.
I'm awaiting a quote from a company that has seen the requirements. I'm finding the definition of a hedge difficult because it's not parallel with her garden it's at the bottom of my garden and her garden is to the right so the trees are not parallel.
The bloke who is going to give me a quote did mention that height wise they wont grow upwards but should grow laterally which I'm not sure helps.
I'm not arguing they need reducing because they do. I'm just trying to work out the required height. The council bloke was ok after initially being snotty and threatening.
I'm awaiting a quote from a company that has seen the requirements. I'm finding the definition of a hedge difficult because it's not parallel with her garden it's at the bottom of my garden and her garden is to the right so the trees are not parallel.
The bloke who is going to give me a quote did mention that height wise they wont grow upwards but should grow laterally which I'm not sure helps.
blackbarn
It wasn't a remedial notice it was a complaint from the neighbor that he had to respond to.
It wasn't a remedial notice it was a complaint from the neighbor that he had to respond to.
Charlie - I understand that. My point was that he is trying to resolve it WITHOUT a remedial notice. He'll probably issue one if you don't comply.
Feb 28, 2020 -- 5:55PM, blackbarn wrote:
Charlie - I understand that. My point was that he is trying to resolve it WITHOUT a remedial notice. He'll probably issue one if you don't comply.
I think he is but trying to work out the legal requirements.
Feb 28, 2020 -- 5:56PM, Richie_Burnett wrote:
Try threatening or intimidating her.
This is England Richie not sheep shagging land. We're more civilized.
I’m sure you can reach a good compromise Charlie. They sound huge so at 20-30ft she should be happy.
(Keep the council out of it!)
(Keep the council out of it!)
Richie Burnett - "Try threatening or intimidating her"
What kind of person would post this?
What kind of person would post this?
I had a next-door neighbour once whose leylandii trees had been a source of bitter dispute between her and her other neighbour for years.
The feud only ended when one of the trees fell over and crushed the owner's car.
The feud only ended when one of the trees fell over and crushed the owner's car.
Ugly trees, not great for plants or grass, rip ‘em out!
Seriously though there must be some sort of guide height. I would investigate more.
If you have a small garden I would rather a big wall or fence with trellis and some lovely big flowering plants or bushes graduated downwards towards your view. Much nicer to look at than dull and dark green screen.
Seriously though there must be some sort of guide height. I would investigate more.
If you have a small garden I would rather a big wall or fence with trellis and some lovely big flowering plants or bushes graduated downwards towards your view. Much nicer to look at than dull and dark green screen.
You earn a right to light in a room with a window after 20 years of habitation, it will be probably different with gardens.
This is up to the council...you have to appeal to them
Does not sound like your neighbour will back down
Does not sound like your neighbour will back down
Feb 28, 2020 -- 9:44PM, blackbarn wrote:
Richie Burnett - "Try threatening or intimidating her"What kind of person would post this?
Was jk, I've known and respected Charlie's posts and honesty for a number of years.
Richie is a good bloke and I'll stand up for for him any day.
The height is, apparently, given in the link I gave in OP but requires calculating which is what I asked for. I've re-estimated the garden as 20 metres long.
I have three trees at the bottom of the garden which are the problem. It sounds ridiculous but I can, according the the link I gave, cut two of them down because a hedge constitutes two or more trees (which have to be evergreen). If I cut two down and leave one the the neighbour would be no better off.
There is a bit of history with the neighbour which I wont go into now.
The height is, apparently, given in the link I gave in OP but requires calculating which is what I asked for. I've re-estimated the garden as 20 metres long.
I have three trees at the bottom of the garden which are the problem. It sounds ridiculous but I can, according the the link I gave, cut two of them down because a hedge constitutes two or more trees (which have to be evergreen). If I cut two down and leave one the the neighbour would be no better off.
There is a bit of history with the neighbour which I wont go into now.
Agreed on contract to take all three of them down. Cost is £3100, including VAT, which I thought was steep but after three quotes seems the going rate. Price also includes chopping down a couple of wild trees, tidying shrubs, general cleaning up and taking everything away.
It's apparently quite a tricky job because there's no easy access and they have to climb the trees, cut them and manually lower stuff down (I have a garage underneath them).
The bloke from the council was useless and I'm sure he didn't know how to calculate the required height because when I asked him how he had calculated it he came up with some nonsense which wasn't anything like that given in the regs he quoted.
It's apparently quite a tricky job because there's no easy access and they have to climb the trees, cut them and manually lower stuff down (I have a garage underneath them).
The bloke from the council was useless and I'm sure he didn't know how to calculate the required height because when I asked him how he had calculated it he came up with some nonsense which wasn't anything like that given in the regs he quoted.
stupid neighbour doesn't realise that it is trees that distinguish upmarket neighbourhoods from concrete slums
the working classes destroy everything given enough time 
anyone with a hedge or tree height of 6ft 6ins should be dealt with
what was it that hitler said about apart height
no that was those wonderful people at the cape
happy days
what was it that hitler said about apart height
no that was those wonderful people at the cape
happy days
The working class are the backbone of this and most countries. I class myself as working class but other people would categorise me as middle class. I'm proud of my family roots who worked hard often in really sh!tty jobs (miners, nail makers, brick makers, welders, furnace workers, moulders, etc). They were the salt of the earth and many of them died defending this country. Don't slag off the working class.
Mar 10, 2020 -- 8:41PM, moisok wrote:
anyone with a hedge or tree height of 6ft 6ins should be dealt withwhat was it that hitler said about apart heightno that was those wonderful people at the capehappy days
Moron.
I,m working class also Charlie, I know what they,re like
the sight of some neighbours needs blocking out by tall trees , in my humble opinion
moron blocks out light with high trees headline
a KHANTian of the highest order
a KHANTian of the highest order
oh dear
their are many greedy and ignorant people on here who only care for themselves - fk everyone else
charlie is such a charming example
charlie is such a charming example
trees should never be cut down unless they are deemed unsafe
i have 6 - 100 to 120 ft plus Poplars one immediately bordering my house along with masses of shrubbery and mixed varieties up to 30 ft of all sorts - blocks all the light out till 10am ish at least - sun rising from the east of course but they are all lovely
well done moisok an abundance of greenery very beautiful
spurs 2 0 down - doing ok tonight - can send out for more beer - they don't seem to be rashering it at all - I do love a good sanwhich - left over thinly sliced pork with pickle (sweet)
I love local pork sausages we have here - casseroled with onions, cider etc add other ingredients if you wish
but a good roast leg of pork is hard to beat
hope I haven't offended anyone
I love local pork sausages we have here - casseroled with onions, cider etc add other ingredients if you wish
but a good roast leg of pork is hard to beat
hope I haven't offended anyone
the plebs with no taste or understanding would destroy all that, concrete it and maybe put up a wind turbine
of course most of you on here cannot afford virgin or sky etc
where as I can
but trust me when I say totteringhopspuds are in serious do do here
their defence is amazingly awful
where as I can
but trust me when I say totteringhopspuds are in serious do do here
their defence is amazingly awful
I know eff all about cutting trees down, but that sounds like a hell of a price. I thought everything went through a shredder nowadays and was reduced to chippings?
It does but they still have to cut it down first and there was more work involved.
Charlie ya should have delayed another couple of weeks.
As said above the Right to Light / Ancient Lights law gives you a right to illumination.
"the owner of a building with windows that have received natural daylight for 20 years or more is entitled to forbid any construction or other obstruction that would deprive him or her of that illumination."
"the owner of a building with windows that have received natural daylight for 20 years or more is entitled to forbid any construction or other obstruction that would deprive him or her of that illumination."
It was nothing to with windows it was light in the garden which I didn't know was a right.
To be fair to the woman next door who complained I did look on Google arial view and, as it happened, it was a nice sunny day. It did show a huge shadow on her garden. I could have kept one of the leylandii and she would have been no better off but decided to do the decent thing.
I didn't Charlie, over that "hedge" many hours were discussed probably when now in cold reality it is now something else discussed, fwiw and i haven't read the thread a pity it couldn't have been compromised, i won't be happy if a lot of shade went on my property though.
It wasn't really a hedge in the normal way, the trees were at the bottom of my garden and the neighbour is to the right of me as in a semi-detached house. As I said I could have kept one of them because one tree doesn't constitute a hedge. Bollocks to it it's done now.
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