Pruning time

It may seem early in the year to get out in the garden, but now is the perfect time to cut back trees and hedges near streets that could cause nuisance, obstruction or danger to pedestrians or vehicles.  Vegetation from your land needs to be maintained by you.  If you have bushes that grow onto the footway they must be cut back to your boundary at all times. If, when walking around Weybridge, you pass a bush that extends beyond the boundary and over the footway report it to Surrey now.

Last year, the Surrey received 8,476 calls from people reporting overgrown hedges, many of which related to vegetation on private land. Graham Banks, Surrey's arboricultural team leader, has some tips to help to maintain your roadside hedges and trees.

• You can cut vegetation well back at this time of the year. If you leave it to later in the year, cutting is best limited to new growth. You may need to do this several times during the summer to avoid causing an obstruction or inconvenience to pedestrians.
• Evergreen Lawson and Leylandii conifers can only be cut back to live wood if they are to sustain growth.
• Take care to avoid disturbing nesting birds. The main nesting period is between early March and late July, so check ahead of cutting, especially when using machinery. If you do find a nest, avoid causing any disturbance and leave the hedge concerned until the nest is empty.