Hedge Planting / Fence distance question

dmakc

A short strip of land and residential property are divided by a wire mesh fence. I (land) want to erect a whitethorn hedge along this boundary, but plan on situating it my side of the boundary for full ownership.

1. How close to the wire mesh fence can I put it so that it could be trusted to not encroach beyond this wire mesh boundary, or could still be cut from the outside with a hedge cutter?
2. A more general question, on my side how far out should I keep an electric fence from the young hedge so it can be trimmed in the long run without altering the fence?

Wildsurfer

Nobody ever leaves enough space as it seems such a waste of ground when you see the young plants in place. A lad near here spent thousands on timber post and rail and within a few years it was buried inside the beech hedge he planted beside it! I would say the mature hedge will be approx 5 feet wide, and then another 3' at least needed to fit hedgecutter inside wire. So plant hedge line approx 6' from wire on both sides?

Who2

id be of the opposite thinking. I have a lot of white thorn hedges here and I try to keep them under two foot thick. I’d plant close to the neighbours boundary (about 6”) and I’d put the electric fence out no more than 18” from the hedge.
cut it tight the first year round and you’ll get a really bushy hedge.

I prefer using sheep and barbed wire snug into a new hedge rather than electric as it means less trimming back down the line for wires earthing.

By the time the posts rot the white horn will be carrying your wire and you can trim it back with a hedgecutter without worrying about calves and sheep poaching gaps when it gets a bit older.