Council works in progress to trim hedgerows at busy junctions

HEDGEROWS obscuring busy junctions throughout Laois are currently being cut throughout the county in order to increase safety for road users during the summer season while greenery is growing at its quickest.

At the latest meeting of the Borris-in-Ossory/Mountmellick Municipal District, Fine Gael Councillor John King put forward a motion advocating for hedgerows at busy junctions and turns to be cut to create greater visibility for motorists and cyclists during this summer season as growth is now at its strongest.

In response a member of the Area Office said that a hedge contractor had been procured by the MD Office and that hedge cutting will be carried out for safety reasons for all road users, though they did underscore the fact that the extent of the works would be dependent on budgets and resource availability. The representative highlighted that the work had started last week in the Mountmellick area.

Explaining the impetus behind his motion, Councillor John King explained that he had received numerous calls in the last while about crossroads and different bends where the grass has just gone too high or bushes have stretched too far onto main roads.

Supporting the motion, Councillor Ollie Clooney wondered if, in places where visibility was impaired, if they could also secure permission to trim hedges if there was an event on in a particular area – a chapter of the "Wildlife Act" restricts the trimming of large hedges during most periods of the year as the branches provide homes for countless birds nests.

In response the Area Office highlighted that their ability to more generally cut hedges was heavily restricted by provisions of the "Wildlife Act" with the cutting of hedges being heavily restricted between the 1st of March and the 31st of August.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme