Overhanging vegetation

Private vegetation overhanging the highway
Under the Highways Act (1980 and as amended) residents are responsible for maintaining trees, hedges and shrubs within their own property that adjoin onto the public highway. The landowner is required to make sure that the vegetation from their property does not:

overhang the pavement/road so as to obstruct pedestrians or vehicles
pose an unreasonable health and safety risk to pedestrians or vehicles
block traffic signals or road signs
block drivers' sightlines

We only recommend the use of fully qualified and insured contractors to undertake any necessary work to manage your vegetation. A list of approved contractors can be found on The Arboricultural Association website.

If overhanging vegetation is found to be obstructing the highway from a private or commercial property, then the council can issue an enforcement notice on the landowner. These notices give the landowner 14 days to carry out necessary works, after which time the council may do the work and recharge the landowner fully for all costs incurred.

Vegetation overhanging your property
There is no legal obligation on the landowner to prune or reduce foliage from vegetation on their property if it overhangs onto a neighbouring property. However, if overhanging vegetation is causing damage to a neighbouring property it can be deemed a legal nuisance. In the case of legal nuisance the vegetation owner would be obligated to abate the nuisance caused and pay the costs of repairs directly caused by their vegetation. The same principles apply to any council owned /managed trees.

If vegetation is overhanging from school land, please contact the school directly. Please note: In most cases the council is unlikely to undertake pruning works solely as a result of overhang.

If the landowner is unwilling to reduce or remove the overhanging material, then the affected landowner can exercise their 'common law' rights. This empowers the affected landowner to cut the material back to the boundary. However, if this action is to be undertaken the following considerations need to be taken into account:

The cost of any actions must be met by the affected landowner wishing to undertake the work; it cannot be recharged against the tree owner.
The work must be completed from within the affected property, accessing the property or the tree from elsewhere could be taken as trespass.
If as a result of the works the tree dies or falls over then the person(s) undertaking the work could be held legally responsible for both the damage to the tree and/or any surrounding property.
If a tree/shrub is pruned beyond the boundary line you may be prosecuted for criminal damage.
Any removed material remains the property of the vegetation owner, and technically remains be offered back' to the owner. However, the owner isn't obligated to accept it therefore leaving you responsible for its safe disposal. If any material is removed from the council managed trees you must dispose of it yourself in a responsible manner at your own cost.
If the tree is within a Conservation Area or covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) then an application must be submitted to planning services seeking approval to undertake any work.
If the works that are undertaken leads to the tree dying or needing further remedial works then the landowner may look to claim for damages to the tree and/or prosecute for criminal damage.

If you are unsure about how to proceed regarding any of the above issues, then we strongly recommend that you seek professional advice before undertaking any works. The Arboricultural Association is recognised within the UK as a leading body. A list of approved contractors can be found on their website.