Make certain that the boundary line is known by both sides and its position is agreed. Inform them that it is against the law for them to cut back anything beyond that boundary or remove anything from the ground on your side of the boundary. You have to be careful like this with 'bullying types' because their workmen may 'accidentally' remove your hedge in the full knowledge that many 'gentler folk' are unlikely to take them to court. I've seen this happen with a tree which had a TPO and which was 'accidentally' backed-into with a digger. No-one was fined, and the tree is gone.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
Fight for it. An old hawthorn hedge like that is hugely valuable for wildlife. By all means allow it to be cut back on their side, and there's no problem in having a fence behind it if they feel they want one, but please don't let them destroy it if you can manage it. Being a bit prickly is not, by any stretch, 'unsafe'.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Fight for it. An old hawthorn hedge like that is hugely valuable for wildlife. By all means allow it to be cut back on their side, and there's no problem in having a fence behind it if they feel they want one, but please don't let them destroy it if you can manage it. Being a bit prickly is not, by any stretch, 'unsafe'.
Blackthorn, or even berberis or pyracantha perhaps .., but hawthorn???! 🙄
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Unfortunately they can cut down and remove the lot, this is exactly what our NDN did, when I was out, I could have sued her for damages, but then you have to tell any future purchaser what troubles you’ve had with your neighbour. We moved. Try to keep on the good side of them, they may compromise.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
It's not 'unsafe', that's nonsense. My advice would be be to take lots of photos and videos of the hedge so that you have proof of it's current state. Send by text or email so that you have written proof that you told them exactly the state of play and they can't say "whoops, sorry, the whole hedge was chainsawed by mistake". That does happen.
It's not the same type case, but I had a high ivy hedge grown on a fence as the border between two terrace gardens. It may have been thirty years old - like a high green wall, full of wildlife. It was "my side" legally. I got on with the tenants on the other side (not gardeners) and said to them, please don't cut into the old ivy wood because it's the branches that are holding the whole thing up solidly. The fence underneath was pretty much gone. They said they liked the 'fedge' and they would look after their side. But one keen Sunday they sheared their side completely. And yes, the whole thing started to come down and collapse. We have gardens just over three metres wide, so I guess they felt it was taking up too much width.
I took the whole thing out, but I miss it. I should have put it clearly in writing by email to the neighbours, making my wishes very clear and formal, instead of just having a chat. They were within their rights, I would guess, to prune whatever they wanted as it was 'their side' of the fedge, but it was on me, then to pay for the removal of the huge ivy and the old fence and pay for a new one. It costs over £1000 (long story).
Please don't feel bullied. A strong hawthorn hedge is a great local asset and you value it.
Yes the boundary is a worry, they are already encroaching on it. They would have their mates take the trees out I think I'll take the suggestion of getting it done myself. I was going to compromise by letting them take the laurel out, as I could plant something else, and they own the conifers so they are theirs to take out, as long as fence is high it might hide their large vans at the back. It's all towards the end of the garden so away from house, but they are uphill from us.
Hi @Plantpots, as someone who works for a company that owns a lot of trees I would not accept any claim that my trees were dangerous without a qualified tree surgeon's report to say so. Also, it is currently nesting season so it's illegal to do any works that may disturb nesting birds - a fact that you can point out to your neighbours. So really you may want to put off any trimming works yourself until September / October.
You could also try finding out from the local council if your hedge is protected or has a tree preservation order. In that case, no works can be done unless they're strictly necessary for safety reasons.
Good luck, I hope it works out for you. Hedges are wonderful wildlife havens and should be treasured.
Thankyou, yes we often just clip the stray shoots off by hand in the summer to keep it reasonable but they want it out in next few weeks - we would rather do the big prune back to our boundary nearer September. It may look a sight for a while but everyone's given me confidence it's worth it and we can fill in any gaps.
Posts
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
berberis or pyracantha perhaps .., but hawthorn???! 🙄
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
We moved.
Try to keep on the good side of them, they may compromise.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/plants-for-wildlife/garden-hedges/hedge-law/
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.