Fees
The fee for making a complaint to Ashford Borough Council is
£400.00 (fees are inclusive of VAT). This fee must be paid when
sending in a complaint.
If we determines that it is not a valid complaint for one of the
following reasons it will return your fee:
- It is not a hedge as defined
- It is not evergreen or mostly evergreen
- It is less than 2 metres high
- It is not a barrier to light of access
If we determine that you have not made sufficient effort to
resolve the matter informally we will tell you and retain the fee
for six months to allow you further time to resolve the problem
informally perhaps with the use of mediation services. If you can
resolve the matter within that time and you withdraw the complaint
we will refund the fee otherwise we will retain it.
If the complaint is vexatious or frivolous e.g. it is a repeat
complaint and circumstances have not changed we will retain the
fee
Complainants often ask why they should pay a fee for this
service. Some of the frequently asked questions and answers are as
follows:
- Why should the person who is suffering the hedge
problems have to pay us to
intervene?
The Anti-social Behaviour
Act 2003 states that complainants must pay a fee to us when they
submit their hedge complaint. There are several reasons why we
think this is fair and reasonable:
Most people who responded to questions about fees in the 1999
consultation 'High hedges - possible solutions' thought it
was fair that the complainant should pay something for us to
intervene in their hedge dispute.
Payment of a fee will encourage people to try to settle these
disputes amicably, making sure that our involvement really is a
last resort.
A fee will also help to deter frivolous or vexatious
complaints.
It is common practice for local authorities to charge a fee for a
service which is likely to benefit an individual (in this case, the
complainant) rather than the community in general.
- But the complainant is the innocent party in this
dispute.
It is important to understand the way the legislation works. It
allows us to review these cases, as independent and impartial third
parties. We are not investigating any offence - none has been
committed, even if a complainant 'wins' their case - and so the
legislation does not deal in innocent or guilty parties. As a
result, the fee is a payment for a service - not a penalty.
This webpage was updated on
5/11/2011