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The thorny issue of hedge ASBOs

ASBOs may be best known for tackling gangs of boozy, unruly teens with a taste for vandalism, but it has now emerged so-called hedge ASBOs are on the rise.

The same legislation that gave us ASBOs also introduced a complaints and appeal procedure to tackle the thorny and inflammatory issue of high hedges, a chronic source of neighbour disputes for decades.

But it is only now, a few years since The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 came into force, that neighbours are becoming aware of their rights to get a ruling on the height of hedges and to take appropriate action.

Louise Whitehead, a specialist planning and development lawyer with Midlands' law firm Harvey Ingram, has seen a rise in hedge disputes.
She says: "High hedge problems can now be resolved without long-winded court cases and neighbour disputes as any aggrieved person, who believes their quality of life is being affected by a high hedge, can simply lodge a complaint with their local planning authority and ask officials to assess and judge what height the hedge should be.

"The local authority will consider issues like loss of light when coming to a decision. Any complaint that is upheld will see an enforcement notice served on the hedge owner setting out what the maximum height can be. The hedge owner does of course have a right of appeal."

At present, a high hedge ASBO only applies to evergreen or semi-evergreen trees or shrubs in homes and domestic gardens.