next door's hedge

Sook, as neither you nor your neighbour are able to manage this hedge, how about sharing the cost of having the hedge removed and having it replaced with a fence?

I've done that between S and me! Except I've paid! But since we're both birders, we agreed on a nature friendly hedge! Hazel, beech, hawthornetc also a rowan tree!

Hunt Thank you for your suggestion I would willing pay for ALL of the hedge to be removed but I can't see that ever happening. There is already a fence in place it was renewed last year at our instigation and we shared the costs.

Sooner or later our neighbour will have to move as the house + garden + 3 acres of land will have to move. Lets hope the new owners loathe Laurel hedges.

I would just ask the landlord to take it up with the neighbours- rather than fight it out, as it can become unpleasant.

Mind you, we had the reverse situation at our last house in the UK. It was a 1920s house with a large garden, with a paddock at the back that belonged to our neighbour, with a covenant on it stating he could not build. But he sold the land to a builder and we ere unable to make the covenant hold, as it was old with 3 owners in-between. We were able to play around with the plans for the development - insisting that next door would be a bungalow with nor permission for raising the roof or adding windows at a later stage. We were not too worried as we had a very tall and old mixed hedge in-between, with lilac, elderberry, rowan, berberis and mock-orange and a fence behind.

The elderly couple who bought the bungalow started complaining right after they moved- writing 10 page letters (the kind with no punctuations- just ranting) complaining that said hedge was taking away their light. I took flowers over and had a good chat, and explained that the hedge was there for a very long time, was protected by law as being over 50 years and mixed, and was there a long time before they came. EG it was there on the day they first came to see the bungalow, on the day they came for second visit, on the day they signed the contract, on the day they moved. Politely and quietly explaining that we certainly loved our privacy and were not so keen on houses being built- but that they could cut anything over-hanging on their side.
Mrs then said that they bought that particular bungalow because it was much cheaper (but exactly the same) as the others. Yes, I politely replied, and there was a good reason why. She even phoned several times to say I had to go and collect 'my' snails and slugs from her patio. I asked how she knew they were mine and her reply was 'you are the one with the hedge, so they must be yours'. Never lost my cool- but honestly!

Nonu
House next door is not rented.

Still up to your landlord to sort out what you/she/he is actually responsible for, though, boundary-wise. At least you'll know where you stand.

Meant to say that sooner or later our neighbour will have to move as house+garden+ 3 acres and laurel hedge will be too much for her to manage.

Sook, I must admit I was wondering why/how the house, garden and land were going to move!

Oh the joys of neighbours and boundaries. My husband had a heart attack as a result of a long battle about our hedge/their hedge, covenants, planning applications etc.Tread lightly or it can take over your life

Grannylin sorry to hear about your dh how are things now ? You are so right about treading lightly , things can so easily get nasty and out of hand

ps Hope you don"t think I am speaking out of turn, if so , apologies

No,no Nonu .It was 8 years ago and he's still here! Unfortunately so is the neighbour

Thanks for your message

I spoke to my neighbour at the weekend about the plants from his garden which are encroaching onto my drive. The result, he will be cutting them back and as a bonus will be cutting my hedge which is the other side of the drive and which I can't cut. All I have to do is pick up the cuttings - sorted!
He was unaware of his plants creeping onto my drive and was more than happy to deal with it for me. It may be the same with your neighbour, have a friendly word and see what they have to say.

Result Barrow , Hurrah

Yes, good call, Barrow! It just goes to show how resentment can build up between neighbours, when a friendly chat could, in a lot of cases, sort things out.

As my dgd says,"Puppy dog eyes work every time!"

Bravo Barrow - that's the way to do it - and most of the time, it works. Hurrah.

Grannylin, glad to know that your husband is still well. We had a terrible dispute about our hedge in our last home, and at one point husband was sent to hospital with a suspected heart attack - false alarm, I'm glad to say. The hedge dispute escalated into an awful war of attrition (mainly on the part of our neighbour) and although we moved away two years ago, DH still feels anxious in case we meet neighbour when returning to our old stamping ground. Situation led to legal bills, etc., and I have read of murder being committed over a boundary dispute in the past!
Glitabo, do you have a caring friend or relative who would approach your neighbour in a friendly way and ask them if they are aware of your difficulties, if you feel unsure about doing so yourself?
Good luck with this difficult situation, I really sympathise.

I think that if the hedge is so high, you can complain to your local council and they will make the neighbours get the hedge under control - I think it's some sort of anti-social regulation - knowing how slow these things can be, the sooner you start the process the better obviously.

Meanwhile, any trimmings belong to them and the law says that you can cut anything on your property but you 'must' let them have any cut off bits back! So, just tuck them back over the fence as you cut them off.

I have just had a word with my landlord. He told me that it is definitely not a boundary hedge as it is all in their garden.
I am going to call round to see them and have a talk about it.
I will keep you informed.

Tread light , flower

That's the best thing to do. I'm sure they will be reasonable about it and see your predicament.

I have been next door to talk to the neighbours. It was all very amicable. He said that his lead did not reach over to do my side of the hedge. I told him that I had no problem with him coming into my garden to cut his hedge and that I had no problem cutting back my side but cannot reach over the top. I pointed out that I am too old to climb on a step ladder to do it. He said that he will do it in future.
There were a lot of smiles. I felt quite sorry for him really. I hope he doesn't think I am an old dragon.

Well done, glitabo!
So glad things were sorted out amicably in the end.