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Received a section 154 notice in Shepherdswell? What to do about a hedge or tree over the road

A letter says your hedge or tree reaches over a road, lane or path and must be cut back. Here is what I would do, in order, how long you have (14 to 28 days), and what section 154 of the Highways Act 1980 really says.

The lanes round Shepherdswell, Coldred and Eythorne are narrow, and field-edge hawthorn, blackthorn and hazel put on a lot of growth in a season. A hedge that was clear of the carriageway a few years ago can now brush a van mirror or hide a bend. Someone tells the council, and a notice follows. Nearly all of them are settled with a trim, and it is much easier if you start on the day it arrives.

I cut hedges for a living and I am not a solicitor. This is the law as written plus what I see on the ground. If you dispute the notice or the cost is large, speak to a solicitor, and always work to the wording of the notice you received.

What should I do first if I get a section 154 notice?

Before you cut

1. Read the notice properly. Note who sent it, the date of service, the compliance date and the exact stretch of road or path. Photograph the notice.
2. Check whose growth it is. It should be addressed to the owner or occupier. If the hedge or tree is a neighbour's, or on a verge or farmland you do not own, write to the sender with photos and your title plan if you have one. My high hedge dispute guide covers the neighbour side.
3. Take dated photographs from the road before anything is cut.
4. Look for nests. A nest in use is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The accepted guidance window is 1 March to 31 August, though the Act itself sets no dates. If you find one, leave that stretch, photograph it and agree a new date in writing. See nesting season hedge cutting timing.
5. Check for protected trees. Garden hedges are normally outside the Hedgerow Regulations. A tree in the Shepherdswell conservation area, or under a TPO, needs notice or consent first: read tree work in the conservation area and how to apply.

After you cut

1. Take it back far enough to stay clear after the next flush of growth, and clear every cutting off the road and path.
2. Photograph the finished work from the same spots as before, and keep the pictures with the notice.
3. If you disagree with the notice, contact the sender quickly. An appeal to a magistrates' court is possible, but the section does not set a deadline or say the compliance period stops while you appeal. Do not assume it does, and take advice early.

What does section 154 of the Highways Act 1980 say?

It lets a council require the owner or occupier to cut back growth that spills from private land. Briefly:

• Overhanging growth (subsection 1). A hedge, tree or shrub overhanging a highway, or another road or footpath the public can use, so as to endanger or obstruct vehicles or pedestrians, obstruct a driver's view or the light from a public lamp, or endanger or obstruct horse riders on a highway, can lead to a notice. The growth must be lopped or cut within 14 days of service.
• Dead or dangerous growth (subsection 2). If it is dead, diseased, damaged or insecurely rooted and likely to fall onto the road or path, a similar notice can require it to be cut or felled within 14 days.
• Appeal (subsection 3). A person aggrieved can appeal to a magistrates' court.
• Default (subsection 4). If the notice is not complied with, the authority can do the work and recover its reasonable expenses from the person in default.

You can read the section on legislation.gov.uk. Notices sometimes allow up to 28 days in practice, so go by the date written on yours.

Who can serve one in Shepherdswell and the villages?

The highway authority and, in a non-metropolitan district, the district council too. For most roads in Kent the highway authority is Kent County Council, and Shepherdswell sits in Dover District. For a road or footpath that is not a highway, the local authority for the area can act. KCC explains what it expects in its overhanging vegetation guidance. A request letter may come first. Treat it as seriously as a formal notice, since it is your chance to sort it out before a deadline begins.

How much clearance does the council expect?

Kent County Council asks for at least 2.4 metres (about 8ft) clear above a footway or cycle route and 5.2 metres (about 17ft) above the carriageway, with growth kept back from the road edge and away from streetlights. Those are guidance figures rather than numbers in the Act, so if your notice states other measurements, the notice comes first.

Should I cut it myself or hire someone?

A low garden hedge beside a quiet lane is fine to do yourself. Beside fast traffic, or with tall, thorny field hedge, it is a different job: you need to keep the road safe, use proper kit and stay out of the carriageway. KCC also warns that damaging highway vegetation while you cut can leave you liable. I handle hedge reduction for overgrown boundaries, and tree pruning and crown reduction for branches over the road, with conservation-area and TPO paperwork where it applies.

How do I stop it happening again?

Cut the road face back after nesting finishes and hold the same line each year. If the hedge has got away, renovating an overgrown hawthorn hedge shows how to stage a hard cut over two winters, and rotational cutting explains how to keep a field-edge hedge in check.

Section 154 notice questions answered

What do I do when a section 154 notice lands on the mat?

Read it for the compliance date and the exact spot, then check the hedge or tree is yours and take dated photos. Look for nesting birds and for a protected tree, get the work done before the deadline and photograph the result. If the growth is not yours, tell the sender in writing at once. If you think the notice is wrong, speak to the council quickly and take advice, because you can appeal to a magistrates' court.

What happens if I do nothing about it?

The authority can do the work itself and recover its reasonable expenses from the person in default. The section does not set a fine. What you risk is the council's contractor invoice, which tends to cost more than booking a local hedge cutter.

Is it 14 days, or can I have 28?

The Act says within 14 days of the notice being served. A notice can allow longer, up to 28 days. The date on the notice in your hand is the one that counts.

Who has to deal with a hedge or tree that overhangs a country lane?

The notice goes to the owner of the hedge, tree or shrub, or the occupier of the land it grows on. If it belongs to a neighbour or a farm, or stands on land you do not own, tell the council in writing and send photographs.

Who sends a section 154 notice in Shepherdswell and Coldred?

The highway authority, which for most roads in Kent is Kent County Council. In a non-metropolitan district such as Dover the district council can serve one as well, and for a road or footpath that is not a highway the local authority for the area has the power.

Can I appeal a section 154 notice?

Yes. A person aggrieved can appeal to a magistrates' court. The section does not give an appeal deadline and does not say your compliance period stops while you appeal, so do not rely on either. Ask the authority and take advice early.

How far back does Kent County Council want the growth?

Its guidance asks for at least 2.4 metres clear above a footway or cycle route and 5.2 metres above the carriageway, with growth kept back from the road edge and from streetlights. A notice with its own measurements overrides those figures.

Can I do the cutting myself?

If it is yours and you can work safely, yes, after checking for nests and protected trees. On a narrow lane with fast traffic, or with tall, thorny hawthorn or blackthorn, I would use a contractor. KCC warns that damage to highway vegetation caused while cutting can leave you liable.

Do I need to tell the council when the work is done?

Kent County Council says that if you have a letter asking you to trim, you need not report back, as officers check later. If you have a formal notice with a deadline, keep dated before-and-after photos in case you are asked.

Sources

• Highways Act 1980, section 154 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Kent County Council: overhanging vegetation