From 1 June 2005 new Government legislation enabled people to take their complaint about a neighbour's evergreen hedge to their local authority.

This legislation covers hedges that are over 2 metres in height and consist of a line of at least two shrubs or trees, which are mostly evergreen or semi-evergreen. The problem they cause must affect a domestic property. The hedge must be on neighbouring land; it does not necessarily have to be a boundary hedge, so could be some distance away and it could even include trees or shrubs on Council-owned land.
The legislation not only applies to Leyland Cypress or conifers, but could also include other evergreen trees or shrubs, such as Laurel and privet. Beech and Hornbeam hedges are excluded. For further advice on the types of trees covered by the High Hedges legislation, please email Development Control at developmentcontrol@derby.gov.uk or see How to Contact Us.

The local authority will only become involved when the parties concerned have tried and exhausted all other means of resolving their hedge dispute.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has produced two leaflets to help:

Over the garden Hedge 1.07mb - how to settle your hedge differences without involving the local authority.

High Hedges: complaining to the council 376kb - what complaints local authorities can consider and how they will deal with them

After the authority receives an official complaint, its role is not to mediate or negotiate between 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.”

When making a determination, the local authority must “take account of all relevant factors and must strike a balance between the competing interests of the complainant and hedge owner, as well as the interests of the wider community”.

Under the legislation the local authority:

Cannot require all hedges to be cut down to a height of 2 metres

Cannot require the hedge to be removed

Will not automatically take action when a hedge grows over 2 metres unless a justifiable complaint is made

Will not automatically order your neighbour to reduce the height of their hedge. It has to weigh up all the issues and consider each case on its merits

Cannot take action on single or deciduous trees

Cannot guarantee access to uninterrupted light

If it is determined that the complaint is well-founded, the authority can issue a formal notice to the hedge owner which will set out what they must do to the hedge to remedy the problem and by when. Either party has a right to appeal against its terms to the Secretary of State. Failure to carry out the works required by the authority is an offence that could lead to a fine of up to £1,000.

There is a fee of £265 that must be paid when the High Hedges Complaint is submitted. For Pensioners & those on certain Benefits this fee is reduced to £25.
To make a complaint please download and complete the form below and, for assistance, please use the Guidance Notes.

High Hedges Complaint Form  29kb

Guidance Notes  29kb

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