If you have a hedge on your property, legislation around high hedges and hedge trimming gives you a degree of responsibility to ensure that it is properly maintained. This includes ensuring that the hedge is kept tidy and at an appropriate height, that it is maintained by the right person, and that any trimming is done at the right time of year so that it will not affect local wildlife.
This overview on hedge trimming legislation in the UK will help you in using your Husqvarna hedge trimmer correctly, and also aid in preventing or resolving any disputes between you and your neighbours that may arise over the maintenance of hedges on your property.
Whether due to height, size, or confusion over ownership, hedge maintenance is a common source of neighbourly disagreement. However UK laws on hedges do offer clarification on who is responsible for taking care of hedges on domestic properties.
Boundary hedges between properties are in fact the responsibility of both neighbours, but the ownership depends on which side of the defined property boundary lines the hedge is growing. You are permitted to trim back any branches or roots that encroach the boundary line onto your property, whether manually or by using a petrol or battery hedge trimmer; however if you cut back any further and go over the boundary line, legally you could be taken to court for damaging your neighbour’s property – so use your trimmer with care.
The neighbour that owns the hedge must ensure that it is well maintained enough that it does not cause any damage to their own or their neighbour’s property, or grow too high. The section on high hedges below will explain the law on hedges over 2 metres tall. Notice must also be given to the neighbour on the other side of the hedge if any major work is to be carried out, such as coppicing, laying, or removing the hedge altogether.