It also depends on how ignorant the assessors are - I have 2 grapevines running parallel with less than the recommended space between them but the assessors classed the gap as uncultivated
.
Maybe next year I'll leave the pruning until after they've gone - then they'll accuse me of not cultivating the vines properly
.
Seems like if you can't make the place look like Gardeners World then they will find a way to lean on you...
As far as I'm aware, all the relevant Acts concentrate on productivity (I call it microholding) - nowhere does it ask for the tidiness of a knot garden - or the sterility of same for that matter.
Cheers.