Severely damaged evergreen (cyprus?) hedge.

frogeyepete

I live in a block of flats where the gardeners failed to prune the hedges until they suddenly (about 3 years ago) went berserk and cut them back so much that large parts of them died off. The bottom part and top part are still alive but the middle section appears dead.
In my 70's, if the hedge were dug up and replanted (which I assume would cost a small fortune), I am not sure that I would live long enough to see it grow back to a proper hedge.
One of the residents of the block is threatening to spray the dead area with green fence stain. I have my doubts about this.
Is there anything that can be done to bring life back to the part that has died off?
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Plantminded

I'm sorry to learn of your situation.  I'm afraid that if the pruning was done 3 years ago, it was done too close to old wood in that section and no further growth will now occur.    It's not a good idea to spray the area with paint, unless your neighbour wants to inflict further damage. 

If a decision is made to replace the hedge, the best conifer for easy maintenance which does not mind hard pruning is Red Western Cedar, Thuja plicata.  It forms a nice green screen and is relatively fast growing at 40 - 60 cm a year.  I hope this helps.

frogeyepete

Thank you for your reply and recommendation. The other resident in question is an ex-police chief inspector. Nice guy but with very strong opinions. Perhaps I need to tie him to a chair.