Planning Permission Help

[TEB]

Good site here http://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/guide.html, will even calculate how many you need

[Alice]

I think your neighbours have been insensitive OWG. We all make mistakes. Maybe the best option is to try to be on good terms with them. If you discuss your problems with them, they might be quite happy to pay for some of the privacy screens you need to avoid conflict. You can ask the planning department to make such planting a condition, but it will make relations between you more amicable if it is something which has been agreed between you, rather than something imposed by the planning dept.
It will all work out in the end. And it will work out nicer if you and your neighbour can be on speaking terms.

[Flummery]

If you are going for a native hedge (and I would) they used to calculate the age of a hedge by how many specied per 100 yards, if I remember. At school we planted a native hedge for study purposes and made it 600 years old! We had hawthorn, blackthorn, dog rose, a bit of holly, field maple, an elder and I think someone brought in a sprouted conker in a pot which went in too. It's great for the birds. You can underplant with woodland species. English bluebell, jack by the hedge, primrose - oh hours of fun. Make the best of it if you have to. To nick and alter an old saying, good hedges make good neighbours.