The Hedges (Control) Bill
Private Members' Bill- Andrew Rowe MP, introduced March 1999.

The purpose of the Bill, which has the support of the Royal Town Planning Institute, is to set in place mechanisms to enable Local Authorities to control hedges where there are real problems, without imposing unnecessary bureaucracy. It parallels the controls already available in the Republic of Ireland.

A number of suggestions have been put forward for blanket controls which would simply result in administrative burdens and be largely ignored in practice. This Bill will enable people suffering from real problems to take action. It will also take the sting out of bitter neighbour disputes by enabling the local authority to act as an objective third party.

The Bill simply adapts an existing procedure in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s215, which enables a local planning authority to serve a notice requiring the owner of the land to maintain it properly, in situations where the condition of the land is harming the amenity of the area. The owner of the land overshadowed by a hedge will be able to invite an authority to serve a notice where its size or condition is causing harm to the amenity of the area. The notice would specify what works need to be done to the hedge and by when. The owner of the hedge could then appeal to the Secretary of State against the notice on the grounds that there was no harm to amenity or that the steps required by the notice were excessive or unreasonable. The local authority could carry out the required works if not done by the owner, and the cost of the works could then be registered as a charge on the property.

Further more, the Bill could usefully be extended (at report stage) to clarify other anomalies in this area of the law.

It is neither a charter for residents to abuse their neighbours, nor a means for local authorities to be bureaucratic. The rights and duties involved attempt to balance the rights and demands of all those involved in these disputes.