Island Roads are responsible for maintaining a small number of hedges on land adjacent to the highway.
These hedges are cut by Island Roads. All cuttings are removed from the footway and/or road after cutting.
The maintenance of hedges that front the public highway are the responsibility of the owner of the land abutting the highway. This may be a private householder, a farmer, a company or the Council. Overgrown hedges cause safety problems to highway users, obstructing sight lines and causing potentially hazardous obstructions.
To report a hedge overhanging the highway, please contact the Island Roads’ helpdesk on 01983 822440 or report this via our online form.
It is Island Roads’ responsibility to maintain the safety of the highway network and to ensure that landowners responsible for any hedges bordering the highway maintain them to avoid problems. In many cases landowners are not aware of their responsibilities for maintaining hedges. When Island Roads becomes aware of a hedge requiring maintenance, an “Overhanging Hedge Notice” is served on the landowner or occupier under the Highways Act 1980. This gives the landowner 14 days to undertake the necessary maintenance work. In the event that the maintenance is not carried out and that no contact has been made with Island Roads, Island Roads may carry out the work itself and recharge the landowner.
Whether landowners cut the hedges themselves or use a contractor to carry out the work, all debris resulting from cutting the hedge must be removed from both the footway and the road and the work must be carried out in a safe manner which does not put themselves or other road users in danger.
Report it Online