Overgrown or fallen tree and shrubbery

Overgrown or fallen tree and shrubbery

Report an issue with overgrown trees or shrubbery.

Report

We are only responsible for:

  • any tree or vegetation growing from the highway surface
  • ensuring that the highway is not affected by any tree/ vegetation that may be dangerous or create an inconvenience to passage

Do not report

We are not responsible for:

  • trees or vegetation not affecting the public highway
  • any tree touching wires
  • fly-tipping as this is managed by your district council

For trees touching wires, please contact the appropriate apparatus owner shown below.

Telephone Wires - Contact BT Openreach:

Power lines - Contact Western Power:

Report overgrown or fallen tree and shrubbery

Maintaining trees in private gardens

You are responsible for maintaining trees on your property and making sure they are safe. You can find a list of qualified tree surgeons on the Arboriculture Association’s website.

Before carrying out any work on a tree in your own garden, check whether the tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order or is in a conservation area.

We have a hedge and tree policy which states that unless a tree or hedge is causing an extreme hazard to the public, we have to give the land owner notice to carry out the work themselves which can take up to 10 weeks or longer in total. Once this process is complete we will take appropriate action and recover any costs from the landowner.

Street lighting and road signs

Street lights and signs are not cleared of vegetation by the us. 

If a tree or shrub on private property is covering a lamp column head, column base or sign then it is the property owners responsibility to cut back any overhanging tress or shrubbery.

Bird nesting season

It is a criminal offence to disturb an active nesting site. 

Most birds nest between 1 March to 1 of August, this is known as Bird Nesting Season. However this is only a guide and a visual survey should be carried out before any work commences.

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