Is Is Better To Have A Fence Or A Hedge For A Boundary?

Whilst fences may be low maintenance a hedge is actually much better for the environment and since we are all being encouraged to think about the environment a hedge makes perfect sense.
Hedges only need to be cut twice a year and will take some time to establish anyway and fences need to be painted to look good, which is as much of a task as hedge cutting (well almost).
However, a hedge will provide food and shelter for birds and somewhere they can build their nests.  It will (hopefully) provide some shelter for hedgehogs and enable them to pop in and out of your garden and aesthetically, a hedge can give a sense of real 'greenery' to a garden.  Hedges will also help cushion any external noises and help albeit in a tiny way, to combat  the 'greenhouse' gases in the atmosphere.  Fences have none of these environmental advantages and indeed their production is relatively harmful to the environment.  So go for a hedge !