Discussion
Good afternoon SP&L,
I have situation i need a bit of advice on .
I live in a house next to a derelict government site , now given permission for houses . I am informed by the owners that , if they want to ,they, or a contractor that buy's the site, could cut back my hedge beside their entrance to what they think is the boundary line ,to improve their line of sight.
I have had the parish council clerk out and he tells me its my boundary and they cannot touch it .
I also trimmed it back pretty hard to give maximum viewing ,and according to the site owners and the dc planning office there is at the moment no problem with sight lines .
However ,a few weeks ago the cc highways were out looking at the scene ,and told me there was not enough view to the rhs of the drive ,which is my side. Since all permissions have been attained it seemed a bit odd.
I am a bit confused as to why they spent a fair while discussing this all with me ,and what is the situation regarding them coming and just hacking away at the hedge from a legal perspective .
thank you for reading .
regards
Robert
I have situation i need a bit of advice on .
I live in a house next to a derelict government site , now given permission for houses . I am informed by the owners that , if they want to ,they, or a contractor that buy's the site, could cut back my hedge beside their entrance to what they think is the boundary line ,to improve their line of sight.
I have had the parish council clerk out and he tells me its my boundary and they cannot touch it .
I also trimmed it back pretty hard to give maximum viewing ,and according to the site owners and the dc planning office there is at the moment no problem with sight lines .
However ,a few weeks ago the cc highways were out looking at the scene ,and told me there was not enough view to the rhs of the drive ,which is my side. Since all permissions have been attained it seemed a bit odd.
I am a bit confused as to why they spent a fair while discussing this all with me ,and what is the situation regarding them coming and just hacking away at the hedge from a legal perspective .
thank you for reading .
regards
Robert
Red Devil said:
The hedge in question sounds like it borders a road rather than the site boundary.
Line of sight issues suggests any dispute will arise over splay.
A map/site plan/Google Earth view is needed to properly understand the situation here.
This. Is the issue height of hedge or lateral position relative to the splays?Line of sight issues suggests any dispute will arise over splay.
A map/site plan/Google Earth view is needed to properly understand the situation here.
ivanhoew said:
I am informed by the owners (of next door) that ... they ... could cut back my hedge beside their entrance to what they think is the boundary line
I have had the parish council clerk out and he tells me its my boundary and they cannot touch it .
The two are not disagreeing with each other.I have had the parish council clerk out and he tells me its my boundary and they cannot touch it .
The parish clerk has said your neighbour can't cut back beyond the boundary line, because that's your boundary and property.
The owner of next door has said they can cut back TO the boundary line. Because your hedge is growing onto their property.
They're right. They can. They just have to offer you back the trimmings.
At a guess it is a visibility splay issue and it sounds like someone cocked up.
You may be being asked to enter into a deed of covenant with the developers to cut hedge back to x feet from road and to not grow or erect anything there about y feet. If this happens they will have to pay your legal fees and also make a payment to you. This will not be 'chunky' but I have seen £10k for a 1 house development....
the game you may be playing is "Is it cheaper and quicker to pay this bloke to cut his hedge back and keep it that way or resubmit PP with revised access location (if they can...)
You may be being asked to enter into a deed of covenant with the developers to cut hedge back to x feet from road and to not grow or erect anything there about y feet. If this happens they will have to pay your legal fees and also make a payment to you. This will not be 'chunky' but I have seen £10k for a 1 house development....
the game you may be playing is "Is it cheaper and quicker to pay this bloke to cut his hedge back and keep it that way or resubmit PP with revised access location (if they can...)
Brace yourselves.... pictures incoming 
.
To answer comments ,
Hedge is trimmed fairly hard by them and then again by me.
It IS on the rd beside their entrance.
the height is not a problem , and according to the council ,the splay is not a problem.hence the confusion .
One big question for me is where is the boundary exactly ,how do i know if their idea of where they can cut back too is correct ?
My deeds show a red line ,which scaled up could be feet wide .
Thank you for commenting .
regards
robert.
.To answer comments ,
Hedge is trimmed fairly hard by them and then again by me.
It IS on the rd beside their entrance.
the height is not a problem , and according to the council ,the splay is not a problem.hence the confusion .
One big question for me is where is the boundary exactly ,how do i know if their idea of where they can cut back too is correct ?
My deeds show a red line ,which scaled up could be feet wide .
Thank you for commenting .
regards
robert.
yes indeed 2CV's
pictures ,
Looking at that deed ,it seems to me that the neighbours fence to the left of the drive in is the boundary line for all of us relative to the rd ,so it might well be that my hedge has splurged out .
I am still confused , if all permissions are attained ,why is this being revisited?
regards
robert
ps.... if putting a deed pic up leaves me open to some sort of cyber nastiness please let me know and i will take it down .
pictures ,
Looking at that deed ,it seems to me that the neighbours fence to the left of the drive in is the boundary line for all of us relative to the rd ,so it might well be that my hedge has splurged out .
I am still confused , if all permissions are attained ,why is this being revisited?
regards
robert
ps.... if putting a deed pic up leaves me open to some sort of cyber nastiness please let me know and i will take it down .
If you were to replace your hedge with a close boarded fence like the neighbouring property I suspect they might be in trouble I suspect they'd be in trouble. If you want to retain your hedge as is and I doubt you are required to 'lay it' then you might have to issue them a letter telling them to cease and desist and that if they touch it they will get sued. If you want to make a few quid out of it ask them for their proposals.
Yes 2V's a fir tree of some sort .
no , i am a bit baffled by it all.
Elanfan, if they are cutting the hedge back to where they think the boundary line is ,and i sue them , then i am liable to lots of costs and so on if it turns out the judge decides they are right , is that how it works ?
Not a scenario i like really.
no , i am a bit baffled by it all.
Elanfan, if they are cutting the hedge back to where they think the boundary line is ,and i sue them , then i am liable to lots of costs and so on if it turns out the judge decides they are right , is that how it works ?
Not a scenario i like really.
Edited by ivanhoew on Wednesday 13th April 20:05
What idiot decided to ruin the rural look of that location by ripping out a hedge and replace it with a close boarded fence?
Leaving that aside the hedge looks fine. I think one needs a lawyer to comment on the situation as to where you have a hedge bordering a road as to where the boundary is, especially in a rural location like that. I dont think it is unreasonable for the trunks of the hedge to be on the boundary, but it would plainly be unreasonable to cut the hedge back to the trunks.
You are however correct to say that the red line on your plan could be a metre or wider on the ground, If there are specific measurements on the plan which reference some physical feature on the ground then the plan might help.
Leaving that aside the hedge looks fine. I think one needs a lawyer to comment on the situation as to where you have a hedge bordering a road as to where the boundary is, especially in a rural location like that. I dont think it is unreasonable for the trunks of the hedge to be on the boundary, but it would plainly be unreasonable to cut the hedge back to the trunks.
You are however correct to say that the red line on your plan could be a metre or wider on the ground, If there are specific measurements on the plan which reference some physical feature on the ground then the plan might help.
superlightr said:
there is no sight issues with that at all.
Your hedge looks on your boundary and neat and tidy.
This. And the boundary is usually taken as being along the centreline of the hedge. i.e. along the line of the trunks.Your hedge looks on your boundary and neat and tidy.
Edited by Swervin_Mervin on Wednesday 13th April 22:50
Chrisgr31 said:
I dont think it is unreasonable for the trunks of the hedge to be on the boundary, but it would plainly be unreasonable to cut the hedge back to the trunks.
A highway authority can, if they wish, do exactly this. I've never actually seen it done though, probably because it is fairly unreasonable in the majority of cases.ivanhoew said:
Yes 2V's a fir tree of some sort .
no , i am a bit baffled by it all.
Elanfan, if they are cutting the hedge back to where they think the boundary line is ,and i sue them , then i am liable to lots of costs and so on if it turns out the judge decides they are right , is that how it works ?
Not a scenario i like really.
But the letter on its own might be enough to make them back off at virtually no cost to you.. You don't have to follow through.. It sounds like you want to preserve it rather than make money out of it. That being the case you could add into your letter that any work on the hedge without your express permission will be regarded as criminal damage and the Police will be called. Trespass might be a possibility too.. Could you get dome laminated signs along the lines of Notice to Contractors -permission to work on this hedge is denied. Any unauthorised cutting or other operations will be regarded as criminal damage and reported as such to the Police.. Place in prominent position in the hedge.no , i am a bit baffled by it all.
Elanfan, if they are cutting the hedge back to where they think the boundary line is ,and i sue them , then i am liable to lots of costs and so on if it turns out the judge decides they are right , is that how it works ?
Not a scenario i like really.
Edited by ivanhoew on Wednesday 13th April 20:05
This might stop the developers instructing someone's to trim etc without them telling them that they don't have permission to do so. Are there any mature trees in the hedge line that you could get the council to slap tree preservation orders on. That would cause tremendous grief to the developers.
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