David Rance wrote:
Down the road from us there has been a lovely cypress hedge for the last
twenty years. I saw it planted and have admired it ever since. The owner
has tended it lovingly, never letting it get out of control. I suppose
it must be about six foot high and it has always looked very neat and
beautiful. I wish my privet hedge looked half as nice.

This week he has started cutting it back nearly to the trunk. This
morning I was walking past and he was there. "What a shame," I said.
"Were you told to cut it back by the Council?" "Yes," he said.

Apparently the reason he has been told to cut it back is that it
overhangs the pavement. Not by very much and it doesn't incommode
pedestrians. I know because I walk past it several times a week.

So why am I cross? Because all the way down the road there are cars
parked *on* the pavement making it a real obstacle course for the
pedestrian. Does the Council try to do anything about them? No! They
just have a go at someone who has provided something that looks
beautiful and doesn't incommode the pedestrian.

Bah!

Fair enough being cross if this particular hedge was not inconveniencing
anyone, but where I used to live I spent half my journey to work walking
along the road because one gardener after another allowed their trees
and shrubs (not hedges) to completely block the pavement. I wish the
council had told them to cut back a bit!