Huge Leylandii hedge

one of my clients has a huge Leylandii hedge running the full length of her one side of her boundary (south facing, so it blocks out the sun)

the property is narrow, so even the grass struggles to grow ....

I was there yesterday to mow the lawn etc and start taking measurements to add some shrubs in the borders

the hedge belongs to a large company and the owner of the property will try to convince the company to have the hedge completely removed (to put things in perspective, the wooden fence is just over 6 foot tall)

they should ban the planting of leylandii in residentual areas IMHO

 

Are those cranked precast concrete fence posts that project into the garden the property of the adjoining commercial premises?

 

yes, they have barbed wire on those concrete posts .... and that was installed by the company

the property adjoins a company that sells used cars

 

And did the used car sales business have permission from the adjoining garden owners for their posts and barbed wire to project into their garden? I doubt if that projection would have been allowed under the Party Wall Etc. Act, but it might be worth checking. That might have been a good time to negotiate removal/height reduction of that hedge.

 

the owner bought the property 20 years ago .... the hedge, wooden fence and concrete posts with barbed wire was there when she moved in

initially, she tried to grow shrubs in the beds, but they always struggled .... she then tried pot plants but gave up

she was unaware of the hedge laws, and I have given her a website link to the laws late last year ....

she contacted the company airing her grieveinces ....

nothing has been done since then, and she will contact them again on tuesday ...

problem is, when she decides to sell the property, the hedge will be a big drawback and effect the price considerably ...

the lawn is a mess (looks ok on the pics, but it's more moss than anything else)

the hedge is way too tall to trim it back to 2 meters in one go, and it will die from such excessive pruning .....

so, the company is better off removing the whole hedge .... the neighour on the other side of the hedge also wants it removed

 

If your client wants the hedge removed and " the neighour on the other side of the hedge also wants it removed " If both sides of the hedge are covered, and both sides want it removed, where does the used car company come into it?
Bit confused. Cheers, Tony.

 

"The local authority also needs to consider the interests and impacts of and on the community at large"

I think that possibly means they will take into account the views of the car sales premises that will be exposed to all your client's neighbours should that hedge be removed. Those neighbours located the other side of them and beyond may actually love that hedge.

A hedging screen could also be a planning condition - might be worth checking and could probably be done online.

 

the law specifically states that if the adjoining garden is in deep shade, and more than 3 of the same shrub/tree is planted next to each other, the hedge has to be reduced to 2m

gets a bit more technical ... there are formula to work out "hedge height and light loss" ... and these fail dismally in this case (look at the photos)

bottom line .... the company has to remove the hedge at their cost, or cut it down to 2m ... or face a fine of £1000
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4596685.stm

http://www.leylandii.com/about-leylandii/leylandii-law

so far, they have sidestepped the issue, but am 100% certain that they are aware of the laws

 

... and here's the law:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/hedgeheight.pdf

and here is a spreadsheet to calculate action hedge height:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/hedgeheight

(click on the link that says spreadsheet to calculate action hedge height)

the company in question is fully aware of the laws, as they sponser landscaping forums

 

I can't find a link at the moment, but I have a recollection that Local Authorities are not always obliged to order hedges to be reduced to the minimum of 2m and they can select a higher limit - so perhaps a greater height of 3 metres in these particular circumstances (or whatever wont kill the trees)?

Perhaps it might be best to sound things out with the Local Authority before demanding complete removal by the owners of the adjoining property.

 

uote="shiney, post: 530170, member: 1458"]There have been a number of cases where the Local Authority have adjusted or declined to enforce the Leylandii law.[/quote]

I doubt that they will 'adjust' their law in this case ....

this must be one of the worst cases I have ever seen .... it's a lot worse than what it looks like in the photos

there is no reason whatsoever why the company needs the hedge in the 1st place ....

the front of their used car storage property has no fence and it faces a main road with lots of pedestrians and traffic ....

so it's not about security

 

Please let us know whether the application to reduce the height to 2m is successful (or possibly amended on grounds of visual amenity)

 

the client will ask for it to be completely removed .... if it is cut back to 2m (which is just above the height of the wooden fence, and which is the law), .... it will die, as they have allowed it to grow too tall

I will update on this thread