A planning inspector has ordered a Bath homeowner to reduce the height of a conifer hedge where some of the trees are at least 10 metres high.

The homeowner has been told to reduce the height of the trees
The appeal was lodged last April under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 against a Remedial Notice (RN) issued in April 2023 by Bath & North East Somerset Council.
The appeal relates to the row of evergreen trees that grow alongside the north-east boundary of 56 Leighton Road at Upper Weston.
The detached house sits on the corner with Duncan Gardens.
The notice followed a complaint from the owner of the house to the north east.
The inspector has now dismissed the appeal, satisfied that the action set out by the council was “appropriate and justified as the hedge is adversely affecting the reasonable enjoyment of the neighbouring dwelling”.
The hedge owner had argued that the trees are not growing on the boundary but the inspector said this was “largely irrelevant” as it is the effect of the hedge on a property that it is important, rather than where it grows.

Trees surround the property on Leighton Road in Weston
The inspector described the height reduction needed as “considerable”, explaining: “At my visit I saw that the third tree from the north has limited healthy foliage below four metres.
“It is therefore questionable as to whether it would survive the extent of pruning required by the RN. Under the Act, the action specified in a RN cannot involve the removal of a hedge.
“The hedge is to be considered as a unit, and all the other trees have vigorous low-level growth that should be sufficient to enable them to manage the height reduction.
“Therefore, even though there is a risk that one tree may die because of the work, the majority should survive, and the hedge would not therefore be removed for the purposes of the Act.”
The inspector said the gardens are on a slope and the hedge provides privacy to both: “This benefit would be retained following the work as the hedge can remain up to a height of 4.5 metres.”
The RN specifies that work should take place outside bird nesting season.
The inspector ruled that the work can be delayed until September to avoid the 2025 bird nesting season and give plenty of time for it to be carried out before next winter.