Reader's Letter: Shocking state of hedges and pavements

As highlighted at the recent public meeting with Cheshire East Highways, there are a number of problems which affect pavements in and around the village. I live on Moss Lane, walking into the village daily with my 13 year daughter on her way to school and on many evenings take short walks with my wife.

The key problems are;

No enforcement of hedgerows growing beyond and gardens overhanging people's property boundary lines.

Very quickly this causes moss to grow on the pavement below the vegetation and which over time together with root spread, destroys the asphalt.

In addition, there are multiple locations where the pavement width has been reduced by up to 50% with some hedges encroaching the pavement by up to 1.0m. This severely limits use of the pavement, particularly for the elderly and parents with children in prams. The problem is exacerbated where hedges are formed from holly and similar spikey varieties causing a risk to public safety.

Some hedges are barely trimmed at all and many are trimmed back to a point still 300-400mm beyond the boundary line.

Trenching and patching of public utilities - water, sewerage, cable TV, telecoms, fibre optic. Generally becoming the source of future potholes and depressions in the pavement.

Substandard drop kerb installation with poor quality asphalt and poorly installed concrete kerbs - this is despite works only being done by Cheshire East Highways approved contractors. It takes months to secure approval yet it seems there are no or at least limits checks on installation quality and specifications.

Road edges generally degraded adjacent to the pavement - this leads to crumbling tarmac and extending the poor state of repair.

Little or no weed control on village roads - resulting in weed growth between the pavement asphalt and kerb, along the edge of the road asphalt which rapidly spreads into private gardens.

Overall the combined effect of the above on public areas and the streetscape is shocking and totally undermines the token efforts by Cheshire East to maintain the roads and pavements.

I have attached some sample photographs from Moss Lane, Talbot Road and Trafford Road by way of examples. Whilst these photographs are local to my house in Moss Lane and the routes I take often, there are several other areas in the village like this.

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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

David Hadfield
Wednesday 6th September 2017 at 6:38 pm
Totally support your effort, Ian, in trying to highlight the dangerous conditions on local pavements and roads in the area.

Home owners who let their hedges become overgrown and infringe onto public footpaths should take their responsibilities more seriously and not create more problems than we already have, what with potholes and bumps in local roads.
Duncan Herald
Thursday 7th September 2017 at 2:02 pm
Some time ago, I was involved in two cases; one was Cottage Lawns, maintained by Emersons and t'other was a hedgerow owned by a farmer, impinging on a clear footpath from villags to cemetary.
In both cases a polite 'please cut' sufficed.
Is it possible that no-one is actually asking?
Richard Downs
Friday 8th September 2017 at 7:16 am
Like Duncan, I can only speak highly of Emersons here. A quick phone call or word to someone and they do their best to cut it as fast as possible.
Vin Sumner
Tuesday 12th September 2017 at 2:33 pm
I would add an additional concern about the deliberate placing of objects on footpaths , in particular where the grass verge is the right of way. This includes cars, boulders , posts and flower beds. Whilst there may be an argument for post / stones on the road edge to reduce cars parking on verges ; there is no justification for blocking the rights of way and creating trip hazards or forcing people onto the road.
Peter Bugler
Tuesday 12th September 2017 at 4:01 pm
I totally agree, however it isn't just pavements. Have you tried to see left as you pull out of Hough Lane onto Mottram Road? You have to be half way across before you can see if it is safe to go the rest of the way. That is of course, not the only place.

There is a reverse problem with roadside hedges cut by flails being cut so small that birds can't use them for nesting and larger trees can't regenerate.