Leylandii hedges that are too tall: high hedge complaints in Wales

Published 25 October 2026

A line of leylandii can go from a neat screen to a dark wall surprisingly quickly. The RHS describes Leyland cypress as quick-growing and says that with little or no pruning it “can quickly grow to giant proportions”. If the hedge is yours, the fix is usually a planned reduction. If it belongs to a neighbour and talking hasn’t worked, Wales has a formal route: a high hedge complaint to your council.

This guide explains how that route works in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire, what it can and can’t achieve, and what happens if either side disagrees with the outcome.

Which hedges count as a “high hedge”?

High hedges are dealt with under Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, which came into force in Wales on 31 December 2004. Swansea Council and Carmarthenshire Council use the same basic tests. The hedge must:

• be a line of two or more trees or shrubs
• be wholly or mostly evergreen or semi-evergreen (leylandii and other conifers, laurel and similar)
• be more than 2 metres above ground level
• act, to some degree, as a barrier to light or access, even if there are gaps in it
• be growing on land that isn’t yours

You also need to own or occupy the affected property, and it must be wholly or partly residential. A single tree, or a deciduous hedge such as beech or hawthorn that loses its leaves, falls outside these rules.

Step one: talk to your neighbour first

Every council treats a complaint as a last resort. Swansea Council says it will reject complaints where you haven’t discussed the problem with your neighbour. Carmarthenshire’s complaint form asks you to show, with dates and copies of letters, that you have:

1. approached the hedge owner and asked to discuss the problem
2. suggested mediation
3. told them you intend to complain to the council

Carmarthenshire warns that it might not go ahead if you haven’t tried all three. Keep a short record of each conversation and copies of anything you send. It’s also worth remembering that the council won’t act as a go-between. The Welsh Government says the council’s role is to adjudicate, not to mediate or negotiate.

A friendly conversation often works better than people expect, especially if you can suggest a realistic height rather than asking for the hedge to come out. Our teams are happy to look at a hedge and explain what height it can sensibly be reduced to, which can help both sides agree a plan. For branches rather than hedges, see our guide to cutting back a neighbour’s overhanging branches.

Making the complaint: which council and what it costs

The council you complain to is the one covering the hedge’s location:

• Swansea Council for Swansea, Mumbles, Sketty, Killay, Bishopston, Gower, Morriston, Clydach, Gorseinon, Pontarddulais and Penllergaer. The fee is £320, and the complaint form and guidance notes are on the council’s high hedges page.
• Carmarthenshire County Council for Llanelli and Burry Port. The fee is £320, paid when you send the form. The completed form goes to Planning Enforcement at 3 Spilman Street, Carmarthen, SA31 1LE, or by email to planning.enforcement@carmarthenshire.gov.uk. You must also send a copy to the hedge owner and occupier.
• Neath Port Talbot Council for Neath, Port Talbot and Pontardawe. We couldn’t find a dedicated high hedges page on its website, so contact the council for its current form and fee.

In Wales the fee is capped at £320. Each council can decide whether to charge and how much, up to that limit.

With the form you’ll usually need photos of the hedge, a plan or sketch showing where it is in relation to your home, a factual description of how it affects you, and copies of your letters to the neighbour. If a complaint about the same hedge was made before, Carmarthenshire asks what has changed since, and may not proceed if nothing has.

What the council looks at

The council gathers information about the hedge, how it affects both households and what it adds to the look of the area. It then decides whether the hedge’s height is adversely affecting your reasonable enjoyment of your home or garden. The Welsh Government says the council must balance the interests of both neighbours and the wider community.

Even if the hedge does have an adverse effect, the council may decide no action is needed.

Remedial notices: what can be ordered

If action is justified, the council issues a remedial notice to the hedge owner, setting out the work required and the deadline. There are limits:

• There’s no general maximum height for hedges.
• A notice can’t require the hedge to be cut below 2 metres, or removed. The owner can choose to go further.

If the owner doesn’t do the work in time, that’s a criminal offence. Swansea Council says the fine can be up to £1,000 on conviction in the magistrates’ court, and the court can also order the work to be done, with further fines if it still isn’t. The council may do the work itself and recover the cost from the hedge owner, but it doesn’t have to.

Appeals to the Welsh Ministers

Either side can appeal: the person who complained, or the owner or occupier of the land where the hedge grows. In Wales, appeals are handled by Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) on behalf of the Welsh Ministers.

• You must appeal within 28 days of the remedial notice, or of the council’s decision not to take action.
• There’s no fee.
• You complete PEDW’s high hedges appeal form and send it, with the council’s decision, any notice and supporting documents, to both PEDW and the council.
• While an appeal is under way, the remedial notice doesn’t take effect.

PEDW’s guidance says decisions normally take several months, so neither side should expect a quick answer.

Getting the work done properly

If you own the hedge, whether you’ve been served a notice or simply want to get ahead of a complaint, the way it’s cut matters. The RHS says new growth won’t appear from bare wood, so leylandii cut back into the brown interior stays bare. It suggests healthy plants usually cope with losing up to one-third of their height, ideally in early April, with any further reduction left until the hedge has recovered.

That’s why our teams plan conifer reductions in stages, or recommend removal and replanting where a hedge has simply outgrown its space. Before any hedge work we also check for nesting birds. Find out more on our leylandii and conifer removal and hedge trimming in Swansea pages, or get a free quote.