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Received a section 154 notice in Broadstairs? What to do about an overhanging hedge or tree.

The council says a hedge or tree of yours overhangs the road or pavement and must be cut back. The Act gives 14 days from service, notices can allow 14 to 28, and the clearance Kent County Council asks for is 2.4m over a path and 5.2m over the road. Here is the order to do things in.

General information on the law as written, not legal advice. Follow the wording of the notice you were sent, and speak to a solicitor if you want to challenge it.

Steps: what to do when a section 154 notice arrives

Step 1: Read the notice and write down the dates

Note who sent it, the date it was served, the deadline and exactly which stretch of hedge or tree it describes. Take a photo of the notice. Everything else runs back from that deadline.

Step 2: Confirm the growth is yours

The notice is addressed to the owner of the hedge, tree or shrub or the occupier of the land it grows on. Look at your title plan and, if the boundary is in doubt, read how to find out who owns a boundary hedge. If it is not yours, tell the sender in writing straight away and attach photos.

Step 3: Photograph it from the road or pavement

Take dated pictures of the overhang before you cut. They show where you started, and they help if the council later disagrees about what was done.

Step 4: Book the cut now, not in the last week

Rain, access and a nest check can each cost a few days. If you want it done for you, send a photo and the date on the notice through the contact page.

Step 5: Check for nesting birds

A wild bird's nest in use is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The accepted guidance window is 1 March to 31 August, but the Act sets no dates. Along the clifftop bays gulls can nest on and beside hedges, so read how to nest-check a hedge before cutting and the herring gull nesting guide. If you find an active nest on the stretch to be cut, leave it, photograph it and tell the sender in writing so a new date can be agreed.

Step 6: Check for a protected tree

Broadstairs has four conservation areas: Broadstairs, St Peter's, Reading Street and Kingsgate. A tree in one of them, or one under a TPO, needs the right paperwork before it is pruned. See Broadstairs conservation area hedge rules and how to apply for permission to prune.

Step 7: Cut back, clear up and photograph again

Take the growth back far enough to stay clear after the next flush, sweep the pavement and take dated photos of the finished result.

Step 8: If you disagree, say so early

Write to the sender with your reasons. A person aggrieved can appeal to a magistrates' court, but the section sets no appeal deadline and does not say the compliance period stops during an appeal, so do not rely on either. Take advice.

What does section 154 of the Highways Act 1980 say?

• Subsection 1: a hedge, tree or shrub overhanging a highway, or a 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. The notice requires the owner or occupier to lop or cut it within 14 days of service.
• Subsection 2: dead, diseased, damaged or insecurely rooted growth likely to fall onto the road or path, to be cut or felled within 14 days.
• Subsection 3: a person aggrieved may appeal to a magistrates' court.
• Subsection 4: if the notice is not complied with the authority may do the work and recover its reasonable expenses from the person in default. The section sets no fine.

Read it on legislation.gov.uk.

Who sends the notice, and what clearance do they want?

The highway authority and, in a non-metropolitan district, the district council. For Broadstairs that means Kent County Council or Thanet District Council. KCC's overhanging vegetation page 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 streetlights. Those are KCC guidance figures, not wording in the Act, so a notice with other measurements takes priority.

Hedge or tree: does it change the steps?

The deadline is identical, but a tree adds paperwork and access needs. I do tree pruning, crown reduction and crown raising, and I handle TPO and conservation-area applications where the tree is protected. Garden hedges are not covered by the Hedgerow Regulations. For a hedge that has outgrown its space, see clifftop hedge reduction and overgrown hedge renovation.

Is it safe to cut it myself?

If it is yours you may. Work beside a live road means looking after passers-by, and thorny or tall growth is awkward from a ladder. KCC warns that damage to highway vegetation while cutting can leave you liable. See hedge cutting and hedge reduction. To avoid a repeat, the Broadstairs hedge cutting calendar shows when to cut. If the problem is a neighbour's tall hedge instead, see high hedges and neighbour law.

Section 154 notice questions answered

A section 154 notice has arrived about my hedge or tree. What do I do?

Work through it in order: read it and note the deadline, confirm the growth is yours, photograph it, check for nesting birds and for a conservation-area or TPO tree, cut it back before the deadline and photograph the result. If the hedge or tree is not yours, tell the sender in writing straight away. If you disagree with the notice, contact the council quickly and take advice, as you can appeal to a magistrates' court.

What if I leave a section 154 notice and do nothing?

If the notice is not complied with the authority may do the work and recover its reasonable expenses from the person in default. The section does not set a fine. What you get is an invoice for work done to the council's specification, not yours.

How long does a section 154 notice give me?

The Act says the work must be done within 14 days of the notice being served. A notice can in practice allow 14 to 28 days. Follow the date printed on yours, and book the work before the final week.

Does a section 154 notice go to me or to my neighbour?

It goes to the owner of the hedge, tree or shrub, or the occupier of the land it grows on. If the growth is on your land it is yours to deal with. If it is on a neighbour's land or land you do not own, tell the sender in writing at once with photos and, if you can, your title plan.

Which council sends section 154 notices in Broadstairs?

The highway authority, and in a non-metropolitan district the district council too. Kent County Council (KCC) is the highway authority for most roads in Thanet, and Thanet District Council is the district council. The local authority for the area can also act where a road or footpath is not a highway.

Is there a right of appeal against a section 154 notice?

A person aggrieved by the requirement can appeal to a magistrates' court. The section gives no appeal deadline and does not say the compliance period is suspended while an appeal is made, so do not assume either. Ask the authority and take advice early.

How much clearance does KCC want above a path or road?

KCC's published guidance asks for at least 2.4 metres clear above a footway or cycle route and 5.2 metres clear above the carriageway, with growth kept back from the road edge and from streetlights. These are KCC guidance figures, not limits written into the Act, so use the measurements on your notice if they differ.

Can I do the work myself, and does section 154 cover trees?

It covers hedges, trees and shrubs, plus dead, diseased, damaged or insecurely rooted growth likely to fall onto the road or path. You can do the work yourself if the growth is yours and you can work safely beside the road, but a tree in a conservation area or under a TPO needs the correct paperwork first, and tall or thorny roadside growth is better left to a professional.

Do I have to confirm to KCC that I have finished?

KCC says that if you have a letter asking you to trim vegetation you do not need to tell them once it is done, and they check later. If you have a formal notice with a deadline, keep dated photos of the finished work in case you are asked. KCC also warns that damage to highway vegetation while cutting can leave you liable.

Sources

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