How can there be no offence: its anti-social behaviour?
There is no special significance in the high hedges provisions being included in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. It simply provided a suitable opportunity, and vehicle, to get the high hedges legislation onto the statute book after several unsuccessful attempts through Private Members Bills. Certainly, the Act makes no provision for an Anti-social Behaviour Order to be served on the hedge owner. And no offence is committed until such time as a hedge owner fails to implement a local authority’s order to carry out works to the hedge to remedy the problems it is causing.