High Hedges
Introduction
From 1 June 2005, provided you have tried and exhausted all
other avenues for resolving your hedge dispute, you will be able to
take your complaint about a neighbour's evergreen hedge to Harlow
Distrct Council.
The role of the local authority will not be to mediate or
negotiate between you, as 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 will take account of all
relevant factors and will strike a balance between the competing
interests of the complainant and hedge owner, as well as the
interests of the wider community.
If we consider the circumstances justify it, we will issue a
formal notice to the hedge owner which will set out what they must
do to the hedge to remedy the problem, and when by. Failure to
carry out the works required by us will be an offence, which on
prosecution, could lead to a fine of up to £1,000.
Before you complain
Satisfy yourself that you have tried and exhausted all other
avenues for resolving your hedge dispute. To do this, review the
information contained in the following:
a) Over the garden hedge
A leaflet on how to settle your hedge differences without
involving the local authority. This process must be attempted
before a complaint can be made to your local authority.
Note this leaflet also refers to services supplied by
Mediation UK. They may be contacted as follows:
Basildon Mediation
PO Box 6013
Parkland Centre
Gloucester Park
Basildon
Essex
SS14 2RZ
Telephone: 01268 294372
Fax: 01268 527831
There is also a local mediation service you may what to
contact, their details are...
Glynn Davies
JustMediation.co.uk
100 Elmbridge
Harlow
Essex CM17 OJU
Tel: (01279) 866678
b) High hedges - complaining to the Council
A leaflet explaining what complaints the Council can consider
and how we will deal with them.
How to complain
If you still wish to proceed and make a formal complaint, you
will need to submit a completed "Complaint form: High Hedges" along
with the appropriate fee.
The current fee is as follows:
You can download copies of these forms plus associated
Guidance Notes.
How to contact the Council
You can contact the Council either by:
Harlow District Council,
Planning & Building Control
Services,
Civic Centre,
The Water Gardens,
Harlow,
Essex,
CM20 1WG
Further information
High Hedges on the Office of the Deputy Prime
Minister's website