"Essjay001" wrote in message
...
Michael Saunby wrote:

But does the owner have to cut them?

Yes he does, a house holder can do more or less what he likes within the
bounds of his own property, however once his hedge /shrub stsrts to
imping
on the pavement he is then blocking a public right of way. If a
pedestrian
has to walk in the road because of the overgrowth from a domestic
property
and gets knocked down by a passing car who is he going to blame and more
importantly who is he going to sue.


Out here in rural West Devon the council cut the hedges,

Do we need to make a distinction here between domestic hedges and
hedgerows.
Certainly here in Wilts it took me about 18 months to get the authorities
to
cut a domestic hedge that overhung a 6' foot path by 5'.


I really can't imagine the sense in doing things any other way.

Why should the council cut domestic hedges? Why should a guy who doesn't
have a hedge have to pay in his coulcil tax for someone who is too lazy
to
do it himself?

All the likely legal fees, letters sent and ignored, knocking on
doors,
etc.

A court case ususlly sorts out the 'negligent hedge owner


Still a pointless expense.

Surely the council cut roadside verges, so why not the hedges?

Hedgerows yes but not hedges and shrubs in private gardens

Clearly (sub)urban Britain has some very strange customs.

No not really just some very lazy people


But where did this custom of keeping (someone else's) pavement clear? It
seems at odd with all other similar practices. Even removing dog shit,
litter, etc. from pavements isn't the responsibility of the person the
other side of the hedge.


Granted some folks might not want their hedges cut with a tractor
mounted flail, but surely that's just a technical matter for
homeowners to agree with the council.

You have obviously never had your windscreen broken by the debris from a
flail.
Jusy imagine a 'normal' domestic street, and the put a flail in the
picture.
Apart from the debris all over the road, broken windows injured people,
dead
cats etc etc. Absolute bloody nightmare.


So use the appropriate equipment for the job. It would create some
employment.

I don't for one minute believe that the council comes round to cut
peoples
privet, leylandii, beech or any other private hedge, but if this is true,
someone should take the council to court for mis-appropriation of taxes


They don't come around. They pay one of the local farmers to do them. And
yes, they'll cut whatever you have - granted most are fairly ancient mixes
of oak, ash, beech, thorn, whatever, though ours is beech and thorn because
that's what was planted when the road was widened. It's their (council's)
road for Christ's sake so why shouldn't they keep it clear? I keep my own
lane clear, I cut back any of my neighbour's hedges that grow into my
property.

Why is this any more a misuse of taxes than to collect private rubbish?
Why do I have to pay to dispose of the excessive waste generated by other
households? What about council tenants - who cuts their hedges?

The nearest rural parallel to this that I can think of is public footpaths
on private land. The owner of the land is obliged to keep the path clear.
If this is the reason for the suburban situation it suggests that the
council is considering the householder, not the council, to be responsible
for maintaining the right of way. This seems rather cheeky, since I expect
that in most cases the householder doesn't own the pavement, and has no
legal obligation to maintain a right of way.

Michael Saunby