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Received a section 154 notice in Gravesend? What to do about the overhanging hedge or tree

A section 154 notice is the council telling you in writing to cut back a hedge or tree that reaches over a road or pavement. Under the Act you get 14 days counted from service, and some notices stretch to 28. We have put the practical steps first and the law after them.

A section 154 notice came through the door in Gravesend: what happens next?

1. Open it and read it properly, today. Write down the council that sent it, the service date, the finish date and the spot it points to, then photograph the notice. Service starts the 14 days, and that may not match the date printed on the letter.
2. Decide whose growth it is. Notices go to the owner of the hedge or tree, or to the occupier of the land. In the older streets of Gravesend and Northfleet, where front gardens meet the footway, the answer is often plain. When it is not yours, write to the council straight away and include photos. Our boundary hedge ownership guide shows how to find out.
3. Record how it looks now. From the footway or the road, photograph the overhang with the date visible, the surface beneath, and any lamp or sign it covers.
4. Look for birds. A nest that is in use has protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. That Act names no dates, though 1 March to 31 August is the accepted guidance. A live nest in your stretch means stopping, photographing it and asking the council in writing for a later date. When you can legally cut a hedge in Gravesend has the detail.
5. Look for protection on trees. A garden hedge seldom causes trouble. A tree, or a hedge that contains one, may be in a conservation area or under a TPO, so find out before work begins and let the council that issued the notice know. Our Tree Preservation Orders guide and the section 211 six-week notice guide explain how.
6. Get the work booked. Between a quote, a free slot and the weather, 14 days goes fast, and even 28 does not last. Message us with a photo and the notice date through the contact page, on WhatsApp, or ring 07763 100 477.
7. Finish tidy, and keep evidence. Take the growth back beyond the line so a few weeks of new shoots do not undo it. Sweep cuttings off the footway and road and photograph the clearance from the spots you used before.
8. Disagree? Tell the council straight away. Set out your reasons in writing. A magistrates' court appeal exists, but the section has no appeal deadline and does not stop your compliance period, so plan around the date on the notice. Take advice early.

What does section 154 of the Highways Act 1980 say?

• Overhanging growth (subsection 1). Where a hedge, tree or shrub hangs over a highway, or any other road or footpath the public may use, and endangers or obstructs vehicles or pedestrians, hides a driver's view or the light from a public lamp, or endangers or obstructs horse riders on a highway, the authority can serve a notice. It goes to the owner of the growth or the occupier of the land, and requires it to be lopped or cut within 14 days of service.
• Dead or dangerous growth (subsection 2). A comparable notice is possible for growth that is dead, diseased, damaged or insecurely rooted and likely to fall onto the road or path. The cutting or felling is again due within 14 days.
• Appeal (subsection 3). A person aggrieved by the requirement may take the matter to a magistrates' court.
• Default (subsection 4). Where the notice is not obeyed, the authority may carry out the work and recover its reasonable expenses from the person in default. The section does not set a fine.

The wording is at legislation.gov.uk. Garden hedges are outside the Hedgerow Regulations. If you want the general position before any notice turns up, our guide to a hedge overhanging a road or footpath covers it.

Which council is behind a Gravesend notice?

The Act hands the power to the highway authority and, in non-metropolitan districts, to the district council as well. Kent County Council is the highway authority on most roads in Kent, and Gravesham Borough Council is the district council here, so either name could appear on your notice. Kent County Council describes its expectations on its overhanging vegetation page. A courteous request letter sometimes comes before a formal notice. Act on it, because no deadline is running until a notice is served.

How high and how far back must the growth be?

Kent County Council's guidance asks for a clear 2.4 metres (8ft) above a footway or cycle route, and a clear 5.2 metres (17ft) above the carriageway. It also wants growth kept off the road edge and away from streetlights. Treat these as the council's published figures rather than words from the Act, and if your notice states its own measurements, work to those.

Do it yourself or bring in a contractor?

A hedge beside a busy road calls for traffic awareness, proper kit and a plan for the waste, which a back-garden trim does not. Kent County Council also warns that damage to highway vegetation during cutting can leave you liable. When the growth is tall, thorny or on the roadside, a contractor is the safer choice. We offer hedge cutting, hedge reduction and tree pruning, and on a protected tree we check the TPO and conservation-area position and file the paperwork within the quote.

Common questions about section 154 notices in Gravesend

Gravesham sent me a section 154 notice about my hedge. How do I deal with it?

Begin with the notice itself: the date it was served, the date the work must be finished and the stretch it names. Then check that the growth is yours, photograph it, look for active nests and for conservation-area or TPO status, and arrange the cutting well ahead of the date, keeping photos of the result. If the hedge or tree belongs to somebody else, put that to the council in writing without delay. If you think the notice is unfair, contact the council fast and take advice, because a magistrates' court appeal is available.

What if I just leave a section 154 notice?

The authority can then do the work itself and recover its reasonable expenses from the person in default. Expect that bill to be larger than the price of booking a cut yourself, and expect to have no say over who does it or when. The section itself sets no fine.

When does the time limit on a section 154 notice start and end?

The Act gives 14 days counted from service of the notice. Many notices in practice allow 14 to 28 days. Work to the finish date written on yours, and remember that service, not the date typed at the top of the letter, starts the clock.

Who has to pay when a hedge or tree overhangs a Gravesend pavement?

Whoever owns the hedge or tree, or occupies the land it grows on, is the person the notice is served on. If that is you, the cutting is down to you. If the growth is a neighbour's, or is on land you do not own, write to the council, attach photos and do it at once.

Is it Kent County Council or Gravesham Borough Council that serves these notices?

It can be either. The power sits with the highway authority and, in non-metropolitan districts, the district council. Kent County Council is the highway authority on most Kent roads, and Gravesham Borough Council is the district council. Where a road or footpath is not a highway, the local authority for the area can act. The name and signature on your notice tell you which.

Do I get to appeal a section 154 notice, and does that buy me time?

You may appeal if you are aggrieved by the requirement, and the appeal goes to a magistrates' court. The section sets no appeal deadline, and it does not say your time to comply is suspended while an appeal is made, so assume neither. Raise your objection with the council early and get advice.

What clearance figures does Kent County Council use?

Its published guidance asks for at least 2.4 metres clear over a footway or cycle route and 5.2 metres clear over the carriageway, with growth held back from the road edge and from streetlights. They are the council's own figures and not part of the Act, so if the notice gives different measurements, those are the ones to follow.

Is cutting a roadside hedge or tree myself a sensible option?

Sometimes, if the growth is yours, you have looked for nests and protected trees, and you can work safely next to traffic. Tall, thorny or roadside growth is usually better left to a professional. We cover Gravesend, Northfleet, Higham, Chalk, Shorne, Cobham and Meopham, and can quote from a photo of the hedge or tree together with your notice.

Once the cutting is done, must I report back to the council?

Kent County Council says that where it has written asking someone to trim, there is no need to tell it afterwards, because it checks later. With a formal notice and a deadline, hold on to dated photos of the cleared stretch in case you are asked for proof.

Sources

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