High hedges
As part of the Anti social Behaviour Act 2003 local
authorities now have the power to deal with complaints about high
hedges, this came into force in England on 1st of June
2005.
The role of the local authority is not to
mediate or negotiate between the complainant and the hedge owner
but to adjudicate on whether - in the words of the Act - the hedge
is adversely affecting the complainant's reasonable enjoyment of
their property. In doing so, the authority must take account of all
relevant factors and must strike a balance between the competing
interests of the complainant and hedge owner, as well as the
interests of the wider community.
If the circumstances justify it, the local authority will
issue a formal notice to the hedge owner which will specify works
which must be carried out to remedy the problem, and when by.
Failure to carry out the works required by the authority is an
offence which, on prosecution, could lead to a fine of up to
£1,000.
The documents below appear in Adobe® Acrobat® (PDF) format. In order to view them you will need to have Acrobat Reader installed. (Those with visual impairments may wish to investigate Access Adobe, which provides tools and information to help make PDF files more accessible.) Peterborough City Council can only intervene once you have
tried and exhausted all reasonable steps to try to settle
their hedge dispute between yourself and the relevant
person. The over the hedge
leaflet outlines some basic advice on approaching your
neighbour and avenues that you should consider trying before making
a complaint to the council. Please use this leaflet in
conjunction with PCC's complaint Criteria attached
below.
You should bear in mind that the Council should reject a
complaint if it is considered that not everything has been done to
reach a solution to their hedge problems, or if it is believed that
the complaint is frivolous or malicious. Due to the nature of
this investigation there is a £410 service charge for the
investigation which is payable on submission of the
application.
Criteria for making a
complaint
Who can complain
You must be the owner or occupier of the property affected by
a high hedge in order to make a formal complaint to the Council. If
you do not own the property (e.g. because you are a tenant or a
leaseholder), you can still make a complaint. But you should let
the owner (e.g. landlord or management company) know what you are
doing.
The property does not have to be wholly residential but must
include separate living accommodation otherwise we cannot consider
the complaint.
About the hedge
The hedge or the portion that is causing problems must be made
up of a line of 2 or more trees or shrubs? It must be mostly
evergreen or semi-evergreen and more than 2 metres above ground
level?
For Peterborough City Council to deal with your complaint it
requires you to submit the attached complaint criteria attachment
and log sheet. The log sheet should be used to record when each of
the criteria was met and details of how it was achieved.
(25 KB, 1 pages)
(17 KB, 1 pages)
Mediation
Peterborough City Council's role is to act as an independent
and impartial adjudicator in cases which people cannot settle
themselves. We cannot therefore, negotiate or mediate between
yourself and your neighbour.
Peterborough Mediation offers help and advice which is
available for everyone. If you have a problem or dispute with your
neighbours and would like a helping hand you can contact
Peterborough Mediation.
For a copy of the High hedges complaint form or for any
further information, please contact the Pollution Control team.