Landowners urged to cut potentially hazardous hedgerows before deadline

Landowners are being encouraged to cut their hedgerows and avoid potential road accidents.

Landowners have been urged to cut their hedgerows before the  March 1 deadline, with the latest statistics showing 40 prosecution cases taken for alleged illegal destruction of hedgerows last year.

In a joint statement from the Road Safety Authority and local authorities, landowners were told they must take the opportunity to cut their hedgerows now to ensure they are not causing a potentially serious road safety hazard.

Overgrown hedgerows and roadside verges can result in road fatalities and serious injury collisions, the statement said.

They also pose difficulties for pedestrians, cyclists, trucks, and agricultural vehicles carrying loads. This is particularly the case on local rural roads with sightlines at junctions or obstructions to road signs.

RSA chief executive Sam Wade said: “We are calling on all landowners across the country to remember the impact that overgrown hedgerows can have on other road users.

“We will only make our roads a safer place if we all step up to the mark and take personal responsibility for what happens on the roads.”

Cutting, grubbing, burning or other destruction of “vegetation growing in any hedge or ditch” between  March 1 and August 31 is prohibited.

After the National Parks and Wildlife Service initiated 40 prosecution cases last year, the Department of Housing has said it hopes that fewer will be necessary this year.

However, it’s believed that the number of breaches of the law each year could be far greater, and the department has frequently warned of the dangers of starting fires in such areas in the past.

Such fires can spread, putting pressure on local fire services and causing severe damage to vegetation and wildlife.

The Department of Housing said that hedgerows are “exceptionally important for biodiversity” in Ireland, providing food and shelter for animals. They also act as corridors connecting habitats.

An exception to the ban on hedgerow cutting between March and August includes a provision whereby felling can take place if it’s causing a hazard on a public road. But the National Parks and Wildlife Service recommends that “reasonable steps” be taken between  September 1 and February 28 to do so.