The fee for making a complaint to Ashford Borough Council is £360.50. 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:

1. It is not a hedge as defined
2. It is not evergreen or mostly evergreen
3. It is less than 2 metres high
4. 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 iour nvolvement 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.