When Can You Legally Cut a Hedge?

It surprises a lot of Crawley homeowners that hedge cutting is covered by law at all, but two separate rules matter: when you can cut (because of nesting birds), and how high a hedge is allowed to be (because of your neighbours). Here's the plain-English version.

Timing: the bird nesting season

It is a criminal offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to damage or destroy the active nest of a wild bird while it's in use. Nesting season runs roughly March to August, though it can start earlier in a mild spring. That doesn't ban all hedge cutting in summer, but it does mean any cut must not disturb an active nest, and the safe, sensible window for a serious reduction is September to February, when hedges are dormant and nests are empty.

We check every hedge for active nests before starting, whatever the month; it's both the law and simply the right thing to do. A light trim in summer is often fine; a hard reduction is best left to autumn and winter.

Height: the high hedges rules

There's no law setting a fixed maximum height for a hedge. But under Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, if an evergreen or semi-evergreen hedge over 2 metres is blocking a neighbour's reasonable enjoyment of light, they can complain to Crawley Borough Council, who can order it reduced. This is the classic leylandii dispute. It isn't a criminal matter, but it can force you to cut, and it can sour relations with the people next door, so it's worth staying reasonable before it reaches that stage.

The practical takeaway

You can cut your own hedge whenever you like, provided you're not disturbing an active nest and it isn't causing a genuine light problem for a neighbour. For big reductions, autumn to late winter is the right time. And if an overgrown leylandii is the issue, our hedge cutting service can bring it back to a sensible, maintainable height.

Unsure about a hedge in Crawley? Call 01293 310077 for straight advice.