Guides · Dover Hedges

How a Dover District Council high-hedges complaint actually works

The most common neighbour dispute we get asked about is a tall evergreen hedge on a boundary. The legal framework is Part 8 (sections 65 to 84) of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, and Dover District Council is the enforcing authority for property inside the district.

What counts as a high hedge

The law is narrower than people think. All three of the following have to apply:

• The hedge is a line of two or more trees or shrubs. A single tree does not count. A single specimen shrub does not count.
• The hedge is evergreen or semi-evergreen. Leylandii, laurel, box, privet and holly count. Beech, hornbeam and native mixed do not, even though beech holds winter leaves.
• The hedge is over 2 metres tall above natural ground level.

And it must be materially blocking light to the complainant's reasonable enjoyment of their property. A hedge that looks tall but does not shadow the neighbour's garden or windows is not a high hedge for these purposes.

Step one: the neighbour conversation

The law explicitly requires you to try to resolve the dispute with your neighbour before DDC will take a formal complaint. That means at minimum a letter setting out the issue and what you want changed, and a reasonable time for a response. DDC will ask what you have already done, and will refuse the complaint if you have not made a genuine attempt.

Step two: the complaint to DDC

If the neighbour will not engage, you submit a formal complaint to DDC. There is a fee for this, and it is currently reported at around £500 to £600 — but this can change, so check DDC's current fees schedule on their website before you commit. The fee is refundable in some circumstances and not in others; DDC's high-hedges page sets out the current position.

The council officer visits both properties, takes measurements, applies a shading assessment (the "action height" test, which produces a hedge height at which the shading is deemed acceptable), and issues a remedial notice on the hedge owner if the hedge exceeds it.

Step three: the remedial notice

The notice sets out what the hedge owner must do and by when. Typically it will specify a height reduction to the action height, and possibly a follow-up cut date. Failure to comply is a criminal offence. DDC can prosecute, and if convicted the hedge owner faces a fine.

Appeals

Either the complainant or the hedge owner can appeal a remedial notice to the Planning Inspectorate within 28 days of the notice. That appeal is on the merits (was the assessment correct) rather than the process. Inspectorate decisions are binding.

What we tell clients on both sides

If you are considering a complaint: talk to your neighbour first, and get it in writing that you did. If you go straight to DDC without evidence of an attempted resolution, DDC will send you back to try again. Fee-wise, the current DDC position is in the £500 to £600 range at the time of writing; do not rely on a specific figure without checking DDC's fees schedule on the day you commit.

If you are on the receiving end of a neighbour raising a high-hedges concern: it is almost always cheaper and less painful to negotiate a mutually-acceptable reduction than to let it go to DDC. A staged reduction on leylandii (see our staged reduction guide) usually gets everyone what they want without the neighbour cost or the enforcement risk. We are happy to quote reductions on that basis.

What Part 8 does not cover

• Deciduous hedges (beech, hornbeam, native mixed).
• Single trees. Those are dealt with under common-law right-to-light or, occasionally, TPO / CA rules.
• Hedges below 2 metres.
• Hedges on your own property affecting only yourself.

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