Fencing styles

[rob39]

Hi all
Just in the process of buying a cottage with around 6 acres of woodland. One side of the woodland is bordered by farm fields with sheep/cattle and has a stock fence, and the other side borders a very quiet country road, already a broken rotten fence here with hawthorn hedge. My plan over time is to re fence the road side but what kind of fence will suffice? A simple post and wire fence?? (4 levels of wire topped with barb. no stock fence) My overall aim is to lay the hawthorn hedge behind this.
-Any programs to help gauge how many post/wire you would need
-Maximum distance between posts
Also who should repair the fence bordering my land and the farmer??
Rob

[Rich]

Hi Rob,
I guess it depends on what you are trying to keep out or deter? What you suggest will be a bit of a deterant to the average hominid. I'm a real hedge enthusiast and planting a hawthorn and holly hedge plus whatever you have and can layer into it over time would be my choice. You might need to coppice back some the roadside trees to give it a good start, but they'll need to be managed well so they don't become a nuisance anyway.
Posts every 3 metres and strainers with braces every 50 and at change of direction should be enough.

[SimonFisher]

Also who should repair the fence bordering my land and the farmer??Rob

Responsibility for upkeep of the boundary (fence, wall, hedge) could have been specified in the deeds and if so might be contained on the title register at Land Registry. Your solicitor or conveyancer should obtain a copy of those for you prior to exchange of contracts as well as perhaps any view from the seller as to who has responsibility. They usually draw your attention to any lack of information or discrepancy between the information obtained from the different sources. You can get copies of title register entries and plans yourself from Land Registry (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry) - typically £3 for the title entry and £3 for the plan (usually one each per property). It can sometimes be useful to get those of neighbouring properties too to see if there is anything about their responsibilities for boundaries. Those reports of neighbouring properties will also tell you who owns the land if it's not the person you see 'on the tractor' so to speak.

It may well be that responsibility isn't specified anywhere and then it could well come down do in who's interest is it to have a fence in place and what's it's needed to do. If the farmer has livestock for example and wants to ensure they are contained, then perhaps he'll erect and maintain his own fence. I've certainly seen lots of places where there's a boundary line marked by posts or a hedge, and then one or both neighbour has their own fence on their side which they maintain.

What's your situation and concern?

[rob39]

My only concern is doing the right thing and not causing issues. If the stock fence between me and the farmer is 50/50 then ok. Regarding the fence by the road then I just want to define the boundary not keep anything out and overtime lay the hedge. By means of Coppice the hedge first, cut it back then overtime lay the regrowth???