Lack of use a mark of high hedge law success

The change meant that residents who suffered a loss of light as a result of a neighbour’s high hedge could lodge an official complaint to the Development & Planning Authority.

But since coming into force in October 2017, it has been needed rarely.

Director of planning Jim Rowles said the fact that three notices had been issued this month was very unusual.

‘Including these three, there have only been four formal notices served since this law came into effect, which we consider a measure of success for this particular law,’ he said.

‘In several other cases the investigation of the complaint was enough to resolve the matter.’

The legislation is intended to act as a last resort, when all other attempts to resolve the problem through discussion with the neighbour have failed.

The high hedges law enables the authority to serve a notice, specifying both initial and preventative actions required to address an adverse effect on the reasonable enjoyment of a residential property, and prevent its recurrence.

Deputy Al Brouard pushed for the introduction of the law in the States in 2016.

But he had started calling for it during his first term in 2005.

He attributed the hard work of Mr Rowles and former Environment minister Roger Domaille for finally getting the law in place, after a decade of work.

He said he had used to receive lots of calls from islanders having issues with high hedge disputes.

But since the law had come into effect, the number of phone calls had dropped dramatically.

He said just having the law was a deterrent.

‘We hoped that by having the law in place, it would not need to be used very often, as it would force landowners to come to an agreement,’ he said.

‘So by having it in the background, it gets people to compromise.’

He had expected there to be more enforcement actions when the law first came in. But it settled in very quickly.

The fee is £350 for each individual complaint.

Where two or more complaints are submitted together by two or more complainants, occupying separate properties but in relation to the same high hedge, the fee

is £150 per complaint, subject to a minimum total fee of £350, shared equally between the complainants.

The three latest notices relates to a Castel property with elaeagnus and Leyland cypress, a evergreen boundary hedge at a Vale property and a Leyland cypress at a St Martin’s property.

The individuals the notices are served against have a month to address the issue, which includes conditions to reduce heights of hedges and maintain them going forward.

n Further guidance is available by visiting gov.gg/highhedges. Separate documents have been published to offer advice for both hedge owners and complainants.