Hedge/fence blocking view of oncoming cars

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reddanmm

Registered User
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Hi the house at the corner of my road has a hedge and a fence which is blocking the view of any cars or pedestrians coming and going from my road. I have had numerous near misses of cars coming around the bend as you cannot see them until they are on top of you. The road is inside my estate.
Now that the kids on the estate are getting bigger the are coming up on their bicycles and there was a near miss the other day with 3 of them.
I live in a cul de sac so we know to go really slow going around the corner.
I rang the council and they say they can do nothing about a high hedge even though it is blocking the view of the road.
I asked if there was a crash or a child got knocked down who was to blame and he said the driver!!!.
The hedge is on the inside of a fence which is at least 6 foot tall. Surely if it is obscuring your view of oncoming traffic it should be removed .
Any opinions welcome on this
Thanks
 
reddanmm said:
I asked if there was a crash or a child got knocked down who was to blame and he said the driver!!!.
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I'm not sure why that would be a surprise. Drivers have a responsibility to moderate their speed so that they can stop within the distance they can see to be clear.

reddanmm said:
The hedge is on the inside of a fence which is at least 6 foot tall. Surely if it is obscuring your view of oncoming traffic it should be removed .
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Planning legislation only covers walls/ fences I'm afraid. There is no means within which you can force them to remove the hedging unless it's a managed estate and there are rules in place covering this.
 
This old thread suggests that putting up a mirror may be more difficult (and problematic after) than you might anticipate! However if you would like to look into this option, a quick Google threw up these guys who might be able to help you - you could have it erected on a pole at the far side of the road.
 
Leo said:
I'm not sure why that would be a surprise. Drivers have a responsibility to moderate their speed so that they can stop within the distance they can see to be clear.
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I know I have a responsibility to slow down I crawl around that corner. But 3 seven year olds coming toward you on bicycles could be severely hurt even at 10mph
 
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Hi Reddannm,
If people stick to the rules of the road,ie keep to the left at all times,there should not be a problem motorists,cyclists and pedestrians have to take responsibility when on the road.
And as a btw the hedge does not move
 
I live on a corner and have a high hedge all around the corner, of course I do as I want a bit of privacy in my garden. I wouldn't take too kindly to anyone telling me I should cut it down below the height of a driver in a car, sure everyone could see clearly into my garden at that height. BTW so has the house on the other corner and the one down further, it's not exactly uncommon in housing estates as naturally people want a bit of privacy.
 
If the fence is already 6' high, how does the hedge make it worse? Has the hedge been planted in recent years/ Is it a Lelandia type hedge?
 
The hedge was planted when the house was built but was made longer to incorporate the bend. The fence was added later so now the hedge is higher than the fence. If they are reversing out of their drive it is just as dangerous for them . There are no houses overlooking our front gardens .
Thanks for the replies. I guess I will just have to be careful.
Wouldn't like to be falling out with neighbours over it.
 
I suggest that you put your concerns in writing to the council. Outline the problem, stick to the facts, don't try to propose solutions.

It is easy for them to say on the phone that they have no liability, a very different thing for them to have received a written warning that there is a dangerous situation. Get other neighbours to write a similar letter.

Again stick to the facts, don't propose solutions.
 

The council can't make them cut the hedge though unless the planning granted for their property specifically calls out boundary / sight line conditions.
 
Leo said:
The council can't make them cut the hedge though unless the planning granted for their property specifically calls out boundary / sight line conditions.
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That is not the point, if the council are aware that there is a dangerous situation, children are at risk etc. they may decide to take action. Not being a road safety expert I have no idea what that action might be, warning signs, ramps, or any of a host of other measures.
 

Good point. That will require a concerted effort from a lot of people in the locality though as they can be very slow to address such concerns.
 
It's a bit of a stretch here but you could contact the section in the Council that deals with Dangerous Structures/Dangerous Places. All local Authorities are still sanitary authorities and operate under the Sanitary Services Act, 1964. You could write in and complain in relation to a "dangerous place" and ask them to exercise their authority as a Sanitary Authority and either carry out works to cease the area being a dangerous place or to serve notice on the owner of the property informing him to carry out works to cease it being a dangerous place.

Different Councils deal with this in different ways depending on staffing levels, but generally once a complaint is made in writing most Local Authorities will act on it, for fear that somebody will subsequently be injured and they will be seen as negligent for not doing anything about it.
 
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