Hargreaves v Henry [2012] NSWLEC 1036

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Hargreaves v Henry [2012] NSWLEC 1036 Hearing dates: 15 February 2012 Decision date: 15 February 2012 Jurisdiction: Class 2 Before: Galwey AC Decision: (1) The respondent is to prune all bamboo along the western boundary and along the northern boundary within nine metres of the northwest corner of the property, to a height of no more than six metres, within one month of the date of these orders. (2) In March of every year, beginning in 2013, the respondent is to prune all bamboo along the western boundary and along the northern boundary within nine metres of the northwest corner of the property, to a height of no more than six metres. (3) The applicant is to allow access as necessary for the works in (1) and (2) at reasonable times of the day given reasonable notice by the respondent. Catchwords: TREES [NEIGHBOURS] Hedge; obstruction of views; pruning ordered Legislation Cited: Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Mr M Hargreaves and Mrs D Hargreaves (Applicants)

Mr D Henry and Mrs L Henry (Respondents) File Number(s): 20980 of 2011

Judgment This decision was given as an extemporaneous decision. It has been revised and edited prior to publication. 1Mr & Mrs Hargreaves purchased their house in Mosman in 1999. Since then, they contend, a bamboo hedge on a neighbouring property has grown to obstruct their view of the bushland reserve and the harbour. Under s 14B Part 2A of the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 , they seek orders for the bamboo to be reduced and maintained at a height of five metres. 2Mr and Mrs Henry, who own the land on which the bamboo grows, planted the bamboo for visual screening and privacy. They recently pruned a small section of the bamboo to a height of five metres, but do not wish to reduce the remainder of the bamboo to that height. 3I must determine if the bamboo is a hedge according to s 14A(1) of the Act, if it is causing a severe obstruction to a view and, if so, what orders would be appropriate.