East Suffolk Council

High hedges

Not all matters relating to hedges and trees are a ‘High Hedge’, and therefore are not matters for the Planning Enforcement Team and therefore not matters we can be involved with, for example:

• Issues with trees and/or hedgerows overhanging the road, pavement (and any highway verge), or affecting a Public Right of Way (e.g. footpaths, bridleways etc) are matters for Suffolk County Council as Local Highway Authority.
• Those on non-housing land owned by East Suffolk Council are matters for the asset management team. Details of which non-housing land is owned by East Suffolk Council published on Geographic Information System
• Those trees/hedges on housing land owned by East Suffolk Council are matters for the Housing Services Team. Please contact estates@eastsuffolk.gov.uk
• If you believe unauthorised works are being undertaken on trees in Conservation Areas or protected by Tree Preservation Orders, check if they are affected by those designations via the Geographic Information System. You can also check if consent has been given for such works via Simple Search, using the address or searching via the map. You should report such works to our Trees and Landscape Team.
• Trees/hedgerows that have been planted in areas that are required to be retained as open by covenants is a private civil matter and are not matters for the Council.
• Those that are located on a boundary between you and your neighbour, that do not meet the High Hedges criteria (via the guidance below) e.g. in your view are too wide so encroaching on to your land, are not high hedge or planning enforcement matters. They are private civil matters that you will need to resolve with your neighbour and are not matters East Suffolk Council can be involved with.

Trees/hedgerows that have not been planted and/or retained, that were required to be planted via conditions on a planning permission, are matters for the Planning Enforcement Team. They can be reported using the online reporting tool. However, please note we cannot investigate any of the matters in the above bullet points and therefore if you try to report any of the above via this route, we will advise you as such, and we will not log or investigate a case.

The term 'high hedge' means a barrier to light and access, which is formed wholly or predominately by a line of two or more evergreens or semi-evergreens, and rises to a height of more than two meters above ground level.

If you are the owner or occupier of a residential property and a neighbour's high hedge is detracting from the reasonable enjoyment of your home or garden, you may have grounds for making a complaint to us, but first you must take all reasonable steps to settle your hedge differences with your neighbour without involving us.

Where a garden is allegedly adversely affected by the height of a hedge it must be a substantial part of that garden and not merely a particular feature in the garden that is affected. Please see the Guidance Note for further information. Please note that where a complaint appears to meet the criteria, and is submitted to us, a complaint form must be completed and the £350 fee paid.

Complaints and remedial action

Before we can accept a complaint, neighbours must try and settle a dispute without our input. Involving us should be a last resort if you really can’t agree a solution. To guide you, the Government has published leaflets about settling hedge differences and explaining what happens if the Council gets involved:

• Over the garden hedge - how to settle your hedge differences without involving the Council.
• High hedges: complaining to the Council

Please note that the leaflets were originally published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and that all references in the text to ODPM now refer to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

If we consider that a complainant has not taken all reasonable steps to resolve a dispute or that the complaint is frivolous or vexatious, we can decide not to proceed with the complaint. Evidence must be produced to show the efforts made to settle a dispute (copies of letters sent, for example), and a complaint cannot be made anonymously.

Where a complaint appears to meet the criteria, a complaint form must be completed and the £350 fee paid. We will then investigate the complaint and decide whether a high hedge is adversely affecting the property and if so, what action, if any should be taken. Both the complainant and the owners/occupiers of the property with the hedge will be notified of the decision.

Where appropriate a remedial notice can be served on every owner and occupier of the land with a copy to the complainant. This notice details the steps required to be taken to alleviate the complaint and any preventative action to prevent a recurrence, and a reasonable time period for compliance with the requirement. We cannot order that the hedge be removed entirely, nor can we require it to be cut down below 2 meters.

Failure to comply with the terms of a remedial notice is punishable in a Magistrates' Court.

Appeals

A person served with a remedial notice may lodge an appeal if they feel the requirements are unnecessary or unjustified. A complainant may also appeal if we decide not to take action or they feel our requirements are insufficient.