Environmental services aims

Maintaining clear and safe public highways is a shared responsibility between the council and property owners. While the council is responsible for the highway itself, vegetation growing from private land can, over time, obstruct footways, roads and highway infrastructure. Taking reasonable action to manage overhanging vegetation helps ensure that the borough's streets remain safe, accessible and in good condition for everyone.

Property owners and occupiers are responsible for ensuring that all vegetation growing from their property is properly maintained and does not obstruct or encroach the public highway.

Overhanging vegetation can create hazards for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists by restricting access, reducing visibility and obstructing highway infrastructure such as road signs and street lighting. It can also narrow footways, making them difficult to use for wheelchair users, people with mobility impairments, those using pushchairs and residents with visual impairments. Low-hanging branches and other vegetation can present a particular risk where they obstruct routes or reduce headroom above footpaths.

Residents and property owners should be proactively monitoring vegetation growing from their property and arranging for any growth to be cut back to the property boundary where necessary.

Required clearances

Vegetation should be maintained to ensure:

• A minimum clearance of 2.5 metres (8 feet) above footways, pavements and pedestrian areas.
• A minimum clearance of 5.2 metres (17 feet) above carriageways and roads.
• Road signs, streetlights, sight lines, and other highway infrastructure remain clear and unobstructed.
• Vegetation does not extend beyond the property boundary onto the public highway.

Please note: permission or prior notification to the Local Planning Authority is required where works are proposed to a tree protected by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) or located within a Conservation Area.

The council cannot enforce the height of private trees (beyond the above exceptions) or overhanging neighbouring private property.

If vegetation is causing an obstruction

Where vegetation is identified as obstructing the highway, property owners or occupiers will usually be asked to cut it back within a reasonable period of time. This request may be made verbally, by post or through a hand-delivered standard letter, or calling card, edited with handwritten case-specific details, such as the date. This enables officers to address the issue promptly whilst undertaking their wider duties, through seeking the resident’s informal cooperation before considering further action.

We understand that some residents may need a little more time or support to arrange the works. We will consider requests for additional time wherever possible, while taking account of the nature of the obstruction and any risk to public safety.

Enforcement action

The council’s preferred approach is to work constructively with residents, property owners and occupiers to resolve obstructions voluntarily wherever possible.
Where vegetation continues to obstruct the highway or presents a risk to public safety, further action may be necessary. Formal enforcement will generally be considered only where reasonable opportunities have been provided to remedy the obstruction but the required works have not been completed.

Where an obstruction remains, the matter may be referred to our Enforcement Team for consideration of formal action under Section 154 of the Highways Act 1980. This may include the service of a notice requiring the necessary works to be completed.

Birds and wildlife

Trees, hedges and shrubs can provide important nesting habitats for birds and other wildlife.

Where vegetation is reported and an inspection identifies active nesting birds, works may need to be postponed until the nesting season has ended. In these circumstances, no further action will normally be taken until the nesting season has concluded, and a new report may need to be submitted for reassessment.