Falmouth hedge cutting 'fiasco' (From Falmouth Packet)

Falmouth hedge cutting 'fiasco'

9:00am Thursday 13th September 2012 in News

EFFORTS to cut back an overgrown hedge in Falmouth have left residents bemused after only half of the bush was hacked back by council workers.

The hedge, at Wodehouse Terrace, was protruding into the road, prompting nearby householders to contact the council to ask for maintenance work to be carried out.

However, the council was concerned over nesting birds at the site, and only tackled half the overgrown branches by hand – leaving the hedge looking ‘ridiculous’, according to residents.

Robert Coleman said: “It had been a year since it was last attended to, and in that time it had grown not only to a prodigious height, obscuring what would be an attractive view, but also encroaching upon the road, with brambles representing a hazard to the paintwork of passing cars.

“Some excitement was generated last Wednesday therefore when a team of four council workers came at last to tackle it. Those same residents were less impressed however by the finished product.

“It seems that the tractor and hedge trimming unit that has been used in previous years was not available, so the work was undertaken by hand, and as the hedge is up to nine feet high and six feet deep, with the team not permitted to stand on any object to enable them to tackle anything beyond their immediate reach, the result was something of a disaster.

“We are now left with an uneven hedge with a tall fringe on the far side, so not only is the view as obstructed as before, but the hedge looks ridiculous. “If this is the best that they can do, I regret to say that it would have been better if they hadn't bothered.”

However, a spokesman for Cornwall Council insisted the hedge could not be cut back properly due to nesting birds.

They said: “The responsibility for hedge trimming lies with the landowner, and not with the highway authority. However in this case the area of land is adjacent to the Cornwall Council owned allotments and is, therefore, the responsibility of the Council.

“Works to trim the hedge would normally be carried out at the end of August at the end of the bird nesting season.

“However this year it has not been possible to carry the works out at this time as poor weather experienced during the summer months caused a delay in the end of the nesting season.