You don’t normally need planning permission to plant a hedge in your garden. If, however, a planning condition or a covenant restricts planting (for example, on ‘open plan’ estates, or where a driver's sight line could be blocked) you may need planning permission and/or other consent.

There are no laws that say how high you can grow your hedge, but you are responsible for looking after any hedge on your property and for making sure it is not a nuisance to anyone else.

Hedges can occasionally be the source of disputes between neighbours. High, evergreen hedges are a common source of dispute. Provided they have tried and exhausted all other avenues for resolving their dispute, people can take their complaint about a neighbour's evergreen hedge to their local authority.

Building regulations do not apply to trees and hedges but foundations can be affected by tree roots and soil moisture.

Such matters should be considered when planting/removing trees or building new structures as certain tree species can affect foundations over 20 metres away.