At this time of year every year the Parish Council starts to receive complaints about hedges, trees and other foliage obstructing pavements, street lights, or signs – or just generally being untidy.
Thank you to the vast majority of residents who help keep the Parish looking smart, and keep the roads and pavements unobstructed. Can we give a gentle reminder to the small number that might need a reminder.
The legal position:
- The owner or occupier of a property has a legal responsibility (Highway Act 1980, s154) to ensure that the ‘public highway’ adjacent to their property is not obstructed by vegetation from their property. Local Authorities (in our case West Sussex County Council Council) also have a legal duty to ensure that public highways and street lights are unobstructed, and hence to act upon complaints about any such obstruction.
- As a guide, hedges/trees should be no lower than 7ft 6″ over a pavement, and no lower than 17ft over a road.
- Trees should not obstruct street lighting. This is usually interpreted that the light should be visible and effective at the mid-point to the next light, or 20m away where there is not a continuous system of lighting.
- A ‘public highway’ means any verge, footway, carriageway, bridleway or footpath that is maintained at public expense and over which the public has a right of way.
If you are concerned, in the first instance we usually suggest a friendly reminder to the resident concerned – as most incidents are due to oversight rather than ill intent.