Neighbour cut my hedge

M

MAJJ

Registered User
Messages
181
Hi Folks,

I looked for a thread on this situation, many like this but not the same afaik.

Hedge at the back of the garden about 8 feet tall. Doesn't block light to neighbour and he has a cement back yard, not a plant to be seen.

On his side is a fence, the boundary, the hedge is on our side.

I have zero issue him cutting anything on his side of the fence and legally I believe he is allowed. Also, I would have been happy to do it for him and remove any waste.

However, today he cut from his side reached into our garden and dropped the entire hedge height by about 4 feet. I had an exhange of words asking why he was cutting my hedge, he had no answer and was "sorry".

It was grown for privacy, which has now been destroyed and also it was cut in December, I am no gardener but doubt that will help the hedge.

Other than wait for it to regrow which will take years what are my options please.

Thanks,
MAJJ
 
December is a good time to cut a hedge - but he did overstep the mark.

On the other hand, an 8ft hedge is quite high - 6ft would be a more suitable height
 
4 feet is a good bit to take off without your permission, was very mean of him. He overstepped the mark legally.

Winter hedge pruning is recommended where you want to promote new growth, so it will recover well. The hedge is dormant in Winter. You can help growth in the Spring by feeding the hedge. Water it in if the summer gets hot.

Spring or Summer pruning would drastically curtail the growth as the sap would be rising and growth would be little enough after a prune. At least he hasn't cut it down in Springtime.

The hedge may grow 12 - 18 inches next year.
 
MAJJ said:
However, today he cut from his side reached into our garden and dropped the entire hedge height by about 4 feet. I had an exhange of words asking why he was cutting my hedge, he had no answer and was "sorry".
Click to expand...
Maybe he thought he was doing you a favour by cutting the hedge?

One of my neighbours cut the next door neighbour's hedge because it was getting a bit wild and he thought he was doing the neighbour a favour by getting his gardener to cut about 2 feet off the top.

The neighbour on whose side of the boundary the hedge was planted called the Gardai and complained that the neighbour who had the hedge cut had damaged their property.

Misunderstanding that ended with neighbours not speaking to each other for years now!

I would go to visit the neighbour in a non-confrontational manner and ask him why he cut the hedge and explain that you'd like to keep it at about 8 feet for shelter and privacy and that you'll undertake any cutting needed yourself.

Bring him a bottle of wine and a Christmas card, it's not worth falling out over it.
 
That is a really annoying thing to happen, I discovered my neighbour was planning on cutting my hedge down to just over 4 feet from it's present 8 or 9 feet, it had overgrown into the adjoining property when it was fenced off while being built on, it wouldn't be blocking light or anything just giving privacy but as he was renting out the house I suppose that did not matter to him. Prior to that I had always had it trimmed along with my own side. There was no issue with him cutting back the overhang but he intended cutting off the height, luckily the guy he hired to do it figured I should be told beforehand and he called round to let me know. Needless to say a conversation was had and the height was not touched, but if the hedge cutter fellow had just gone ahead I would be livid, but what can you do, when it's cut it's cut, can't glue it together again.
 
So many responses, thank you all for your time and views.

Good to hear that Decemeber is a good time for regrowth, not sure of the hedge type. So hopefully the hedge will grow back in time, not much I can do about that.

We are on a hill and the house behind is higher, so the 8" is not that high and it's not wide either.

Through all my cursing, DrMoriartys cunning plan comment made me laugh

Delgirl, I am on the way over to mangle your hedge,that is not a empuhnism, please get my bottle of wine ready

I completely agree best not to fall out with anyone would be my first choice always. But I am not going have the pi*s taken either.

He is not next door, but at the back of my home and we never see each other or interact.

Like what WBBS said this guy has people doing odd jobs, what I should have mentioned is that I stopped them in the act a year ago also. They didn't do anything as dramatic.

So other than the verbal agreement and handshake which I got from him yesterday evening.

How do I prevent this from happening again?

I don't want to go legal but would like a formal record of this in case it happens again and then the history will be documented and relative, I also have taken photographs.
 
My neighbour has a hedge that grows in to our garden. It's all right for people to say that I don't mind if he cuts the overhang but at the end of the day it is your hedge that is growing in to his garden. Every year I have to trim his hedge that is growing in to my garden. Do you think I enjoy doing it? No way.
 
IsleofMan read my first post
MAJJ said:
I have zero issue him cutting anything on his side of the fence and legally I believe he is allowed. Also, I would have been happy to do it for him and remove any waste.
Click to expand...

In addtion I ensure it doesn't encroach on his side, by making sure it goes up and not out.
 
Bottle of wine, Christmas Card and a nice chat!

Seriously, it's the perfect time of the year to create goodwill.

The older I get the less likely I am to have confrontations with anyone, let alone neighbours. It's just not worth getting annoyed over and upsetting yourself. You may have to live near him for the next 20 years ....
 
While I appreciate your stand point that the hedge is yours...there is also a 'Right to light'...so if your hedge is causing his back (concrete)garden to be permanently in shade, then he would have a case for having it cut.

But regardless...it should have been discussed first before anything was done.
 
There is no legislation in Ireland regulating the height of trees and hedges, or right in Irish law to receive light in a garden, and that while you can take civil nuisance proceedings in respect of the branches or roots of a neighbour’s trees encroaching on your property, there is no civil law remedy in respect of the loss of light in a garden due to the height of a neighbour’s trees or hedges.
 

Aw, you ruined it for me....I was looking forward to the reply
 
... unless perhaps there is a stipulation in the deeds?

Two of my neighbours had a 'hedge dispute', which was solved when the offended neighbour produced their deeds stating that the hedge height was not to exceed 8ft. How binding this would have been in a court of law no-one knows, but the neighbour with the high hedge chose not to find out and cut the hedge to 8ft.

Wouldn't expect that there's a 'right-to-light' in a garden, but think there is a 'right-to-light' in one's home?
 
Sorry Leo, I feel bad now!!!

There are planning guidelines regarding access to light, etc, for the built environment, but this does not generally include the natural environment such as trees and hedges. Alan Shatter has said a number of times recently that he is considering introducing legislation regarding trees and hedges, etc.
 
No problem Porterbray.

England, and I think Wales have such stipulations in law, but we don't. Even there, the right to light applies to long established buildings, not gardens.
 
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