As part of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 legislation for dealing with complaints about high hedges in England and Wales is now in force. The Public health team enforce this.

Under the terms of the Act, the Council can only consider a complaint if it satisfies the criteria below;

• it must relate to a high hedge as defined by the Act;
• the hedge must be on land that is owned by someone other than the complainant;
• it must be affecting a domestic property;
• the complaint must be made on the grounds that the height of the hedge is adversely affecting the reasonable enjoyment of the domestic property in question; and
• it must be brought by the owner or occupier of that property.

When considering whether a particular hedge can be the subject of a complaint under the Act, people should ask themselves the following questions

• is the hedge, or the portion that is causing problems made up of a line of two or more trees or shrubs;
• is it mostly evergreen or semi-evergreen;
• is it over 2 meters above ground level;
• is the hedge acting as a barrier to light or access.

If the answer to all these questions is 'yes', then it is likely to be a high hedge for the purposes of the Act.

A complaint to the Council about someone else's high hedge should be a last resort. The person affected by the hedge must make all possible steps to deal with the problem informally using negotiation and mediation if necessary. You should write to them and keep a copy of all correspondence. If none of this works contact this department. Advice on how to deal with neighbours is contained in the leaflet Over the garden hedge.

The role of Nottingham City Council is as an adjudicator, if your complaint is accepted they will decide what action is necessary. There is a charge for this service, the fee is currently £325. All formal complaints must be accompanied by the correct fee. Click here for a copy of the leaflet High Hedges complaining to the Council

To download a copy of the complaint form click here.

To download a copy of the guidance notes on completing the complaint form click here.

Useful links:

www.communities.gov.uk/treesandhedges

www.treehelp.info

www.hedgeline.org