Is it right to cut low hanging branches on a local footpath?

[Paul_B]

Oh! That's not nice. I only asked because I know other paths near us that got trees trimmed but not high enough for me. I'm not quite 2m tall so not really exceptionally tall. Of the fathers of kids at the village school there's probably 5 taller in my son's peer group judging by school gatherings and shows. I think overhanging trees are a bigger issue in our village.

These paths are popular routes through the village. It's how commuters get from the station to one section of the village. Walking around the village is really common because of the railway and good local shops.

 

[Kadushu]

The council's useless around here, or at least a one way street. For example they won't mow a certain grass verge but they'll issue a ticket to anyone who parks on it. They send threatening letters to people about hedges and bushes overhanging the pavement but refuse to maintain footpaths.

 

[Ystranc]

My house only has a gate out back straight onto a footpath RoW. It leads from the road a little down from the village railway station towards the memorial fields (cricket, football, tennis and bowling clubs plus playground) and on towards the upper end of the village too. Probably one of two main pedestrian routes across the village to get to places.

It's wide in places with limestone outcrops as the surface in places. An old route I think. In other places it's narrow with overhanging trees and hedging. The parish Council hires a guy to strip the vegetation few times a year during growing season and I think residents help out too.

In one tunnel area I got caught out again by a low hanging branch, low for me as I'm 196cm tall. There's a lot of tall men in the area and I've seen quite a few get caught out too. As the leaves grow I do think the odd branch drops lower. Plus after wind too.

If I take a lopper and cut a few back a little bit, only the worst offenders. Is that considered acceptable / OK? Legally I think it's not but to get it done do you think it's OK for me to do it? The correct thing would be to raise it with the parish councillors and let them get round to sorting it but i don't think they'll do it. Not many tall ppl on the council and they've not done anything in the 2.5 years we've lived here. Only cleared storm damage and strummed the path clear of nettles, brambles and other vegetation.

What's your view? How far could I go?

Personally I would ask the owner of the trees to take a look at them with you and politely ask them to do something first, at this point you could offer to help. If this isn’t possible or you’re not on good enough terms with them and if the branches are blocking the footpath or the branches are causing a risk of injury to you while on the public footpath then the council have the legal duty to cut them back. If the public footpath is over private land the council should be the ones to approach the landowner. By convention a footpath is usually about 1.5 meters wide with 2.4 meters clearance but this isn’t always practical or possible. If it is not on the definitive map of footpaths held by the council or is only an easement for the benefit of adjoining properties then the situation is entirely different and cutting anything back without permission could be considered to be criminal damage.

 

[Paul_B]

Signposted RoW. An old one too I'd bet. Trees a mix of on the edge of the path inside the walls and boundaries either side of path or outside in the field. The higher ones outside the path are on the millennium field which is owned by the village (all residents but managed by the parish and village sporting clubs that use it.

Basically I think it's parish Council responsibility. It's them who cleaned up after the recent storm from the wrong direction.

I doubt I'll get into trouble cutting a few back. I think others have done it in the past 2.5 years we've lived here. It's a pain dealing with councils. You get first acknowledgement email weeks later and then nothing. You only get a first, proper response so long afterwards I've forgotten what it was about! Not a priority.