Residents urged to cut back their foliage

Worcestershire County Council is asking homeowners to prevent their hedges and trees becoming a safety issue on roads and pavements next to their properties.  

A spokesperson from Worcestershire County Council said: “Overhanging trees and other vegetation can cause various problems, including obscuring road users’ views of potential dangers, and obstructing pavements for people walking or those in wheelchairs or pushing prams.  

“Road signs and streetlights can also be very difficult for people to see, and for us to properly clean or maintain. We would really appreciate it if residents could give their foliage a cut back to prevent these issues from occurring." 

The owner or occupier of a property is legally responsible for ensuring adjacent roads and pavements are not obstructed by vegetation. Although the Highways Act 1980 does not specify measurements for the overhanging vegetation, the requirements are: 

• For pedestrian areas, cut back to the boundary and a minimum headroom of 2.3 metres.

• For the carriageway and an area immediately adjacent to it, the requirement is to cut half a metre back from the boundary and a minimum headroom of six metres. 

If anyone needs to report an issue, they can do so on the Overgrown or fallen tree and shrubbery pages of the Worcestershire County Council website.