On 1 June 2005 the Government enacted part 8 of the
Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003. This gave Local Authorities the
powers to deal with complaints relating to high hedges. Provided
you have tried and exhausted all other avenues for resolving your
dispute, you will be able to take your complaint to your Local
Authority.
The role of the Authority is not to mediate or negotiate
between the complainant and the hedge owner, but to adjudicate on
whether - in the words of the Act - the hedge is adversely
affecting the complainant's reasonable enjoyment of their
property.
The following documents give advice on resolving your high
hedge dispute and complaining to the Council. As well as
information on how the Council will decide your complaint.
Both these documents are available from the Customer Contact
Centre and the Local Plans and Conservation Section of the
Council.
The leaflets, complaint forms and their accompanying guidance
notes are available here, from the customer contact centre at the
Civic Centre or from Carlisle City Council's Local Plans and
Conservation Section Tel: 01228 817193.
