Hazardous Hedges Need Cutting Back Say Blind Residents

Date posted: 6th August 2024

Sight Loss Council volunteers and Thomas Pocklington Trust are encouraging residents to cut back and report any trees, shrubs or hedges that overhang pavements. This is to help keep them clear for blind and partially sighted pedestrians.

Sight Loss Councils (SLCs), funded by national charity Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT), are regional groups led by blind and partially sighted volunteers. Together, they tackle local issues, and work with organisations to ensure what they do is accessible and inclusive.

Sight Loss Councils are spearheading this campaign because 75 per cent of blind and partially sighted people reported that ‘Overhanging branches, overgrown hedges and vegetation are a cause of accidents’ (Listening Month, 2022).

This is because many blind and partially sighted people are forced to walk onto the road and risk injury whilst navigating the streets due to overgrown hedges, bushes and foliage. This impacts confidence, independence, and the ability to make safe journeys to live full and independent lives.

To deliver their campaign, Sight Loss Council volunteers have produced a series of short videos highlighting the issue. They have also produced online guidance and resources, including around the best times of the year to cut foliage back and how to avoid an impact on local wildlife. They are also raising awareness in local media.

Local authorities are also legally obliged to act on reports of overgrown foliage so people can navigate our streets and are safe from injury, and guidance has been developed by Thomas Pocklington Trust to support them to do this.

Mike Bell, Head of Public Affairs and Campaigns, said:

“Many BPS individuals have reported that they have been hurt, injured, and had their path blocked by overgrown bushes, overhanging branches and foliage. This can reduce people’s confidence to travel independently and safely, and discourage people from going out.

“We hope everyone will work with us to raise awareness of this issue and encourage everyone to cut it back.”

Local residents can also report problem overhanging vegetation and foliage to their local authority. Under the Highways Act 1980, local authorities can require landowners to cut back overhanging branches and vegetation if it endangers or obstructs the passage of pedestrians.

Sight Loss Council members have also shared their own experiences of the impact overgrown trees, bushes, shrubs and foliage has had on them.

Sight Loss Council volunteer member and campaigner, Anela Wood, is registered blind. She said:

“I only know it’s there when I walk into it which isn’t a nice experience at all. I have gained many injuries as a result including scratches on my face, bruises around my eyes, tripping and injuring myself as well as feeling embarrassed, etc. I urge everyone to cut back overhanging foliage so blind and partially sighted people can get out and about safely.”

Sight Loss Council volunteer member and campaigner, Steve Keith, is registered blind. He explained:

“Now that summer is here and we’re having a combination of wet weather then warm weather, lots of hedges, bushes and trees have sprouted lots of new growth. This, in places, has been left to grow over paths and walkways.

“As a result, when I am navigating a footpath with my cane, I am regularly walking into overhanging foliage, resulting in scratches to my face and arms. In some instances, hedges have grown so large that I have no choice other than to walk into the road to get around it. This subsequently puts me at high risk of being hit by a car or cyclist. This can, as you can imagine, be quite frightening, especially on busy roads.”

Linn Davies, Sight Loss Council volunteer member and local resident from Brighton, East Sussex, is also registered blind. She described a monkey puzzle tree with sharp needles growing through the wall of a garden she had to pass regularly to take her daughter to school. She said:

“On several occasions, I got scratched and started bleeding. It also tore the fabric of several items of clothing which I had to replace. I’ve also had overgrown hedges hitting me in the face several times. It’s so important to #CutItBack so that nobody gets injured or inconvenienced in other ways.”

Get involved in the Cut It Back campaign. Learn more at www.sightlosscouncils.org.uk/CutItBack

For more on all our campaigning, read about our Access and Inclusion.