Hedge Cutting Notice

The period for cutting hedges commenced on 1st September 2023.

  • Owners and occupiers of lands along public roads are obliged to ensure that roadside hedges and trees do not present a hazard or obstruction to road users.
  • Cavan County Council will, under section 70 of the Roads Act 1993, serve a Hedge Cutting Notice on those who do not carry out this obligation.
  • Cavan County Council will prosecute those who fail to comply with these notices.
  • Under Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976, incorporating Section 46 of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000, Hedge Cutting can be carried out over a period of six months from 1st of September to the last day of February.
  • All landowners and occupiers are reminded that hedge cutting and trimming should be carried out as early as possible on hedges adjacent to public roads.
  • Ensure that the contractor you engage to carry out this work is competent to carry it out safely.

Why?

Overgrown hedges and trees:

  • Can encroach on a roadway, making it dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles
  • Can shade a road, leaving it wet and liable to ice
  • Overhanging branches can fall on a road and hit road users

Hedges-Copy
Overgrown hedges are a traffic hazard for all road users. Cutting of hedges along a public road increases road safety.

What is Required:

  • Trees, shrubs, hedges, or other vegetation should be topped, i.e. cut right across horizontally at a height not exceeding four feet over road level and breasted back so that no portion shall encroach on the road carriageway or road margin.
  • Where trees are to be cut, they shall normally be cut to a height not exceeding four feet over road level.

For further information, contact your local municipal district office: