Before you complain you must try and resolve the issue.

If you are troubled by someone else’s hedge, the best way to deal with the issue is to talk to them about it. It is in both your interests to try and sort things out. After all, you have to continue to live near each other and so it is better if you are on good terms. And calling in the Council or going to court might make matters worse.

If you cannot talk to your neighbour you should consider involving an independant mediator, visit the Ashford Independent Mediation Service website or call them on 01233 663488.

The Communities and Local Government website has a leaflet detailing how you can resolve the issue informally. Complainants will be expected to provide evidence that they have tried to resolve the matter in this way before complaining to us.

Download the Over the Garden Hedge Leaflet

I’ve tried to resolve the matter now how do I complain?

Once you have tried resolving the issue using the information provided in the leaflet above, you may be in a position to lodge a formal complaint with us. You are encouraged to discuss the problem with a member of the Compliance/Enforcement Team before submitting your complaint and for this reason the Forms and Guidance Notes will only be available by this method. The telephone number of the Team Leader is 01233 330458

The more relevant details you supply the better able we are to understand and act on your concerns

It is important to supply full and factual evidence of all your efforts to resolve this problem by negotiation and/or mediation. We will reject any complaint if it feels that insufficient effort has been made to resolve the problem prior to the submission of your complaint.

You will need to pay a fee for making a complaint and you can find more information on our Fees webpage.