AIE - Subject - Residential Hedgerows

Residential Hedgerows

See also specific sites for: Native Hedgerows.

Office for the Deputy Prime Minister

The web site for the 'Office for the Deputy Prime Minister' (ODPM) contains information relating to trees, tree preservation orders, problem hedges and how to resolve hedge disputes.

Click here to visit the ODPM

Hedge Height & Light Loss

The government have published Guidelines Hedge Height & Light Loss as a means of calculating whether a hedge is deemed to be causing a nuisance. The guidance has been produced by the BRE (24/4/01). The guidelines can be viewed or downloaded from the ODPM website.

Click here to visit the ODPM page for Hedge Height & Light Loss.

Click here to visit the ODPM development page for this guidance.

Legislation

Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003

Legislation to control the height of high hedges has been passed by parliament in Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. These measures are expected to come into force towards the end of 2004, once regulations covering details of how the legislation will be applied have been formulated. Until that time local authorities will have no powers to resolve hedge disputes.

Link to Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003

Link to Explanatory Notes for this Act

Other hedge control bills

The following links apply to other bills, such as the High Hedges Bill, which failed to become an act of parliament. They are included here for interest purposes only as they are now redundant.

High Hedges Bill. This Bill is now available to view online at the parliament website. Additionally, explanatory notes describing the main points within the Bill, in a non-technical manner, are available. The DETR have published a briefing note describing the Bill and its history and also a Regulatory Impact Assessment.
- View High Hedges Bill UK,Parliament.
- View High Hedges Bill Explanatory Notes UK Parliament.

Hedges (control) Bill - UK Parliament - 13th Jan 1999
Control of Residential Hedgerows Bill - UK Parliament - 11th Mar 1999
Statutory Nuisances (Hedgerows in Residential Areas) bill put before the House of Lords. 30/11/99.

Organisations

Link to Hedgeline, a support group for victims of hedge abuse.

Publications.

Garden hedging: get it right: a voluntary code of practice for growers, retailers, landscapers, developers and advisers - June 1999 - Sponsored by Rural Development Branch 4

National Proficiency Tests Council (NPTC) - Scottish Skills Testing Service (SSTS)

The following assessment schedules can be downloaded free of charge from the NPTC website.

AO2098 - Hedge Laying
AO110298 - Specialist Pruning (Hedge from Ground Level)
AO130398 - Mechanical Hedge Trimming (MO10)

Publication Extracts.

Hedges, screens and shelterbelts. Chapter XII. The Arboriculturists Companion by N. James. ISBN 0-631-16774-9.

AIE Links

Sites labelled supply the information in Adobe Acrobat file format for viewing and printing.