Grass cutting, hedges and trees
In this section
Trees on roadside verges
Trees on roadside verges are managed by West Sussex County Council and they should be contacted in the first instance.
Please visit their Tree and hedge maintenance page for more details.
Tree maintenance
We are committed to the responsible care and management of trees on land owned by Horsham District Council. This includes;
- The management and conservation of Council-owned woodlands
- The care and management of trees within parks and open spaces
- Day to day arboricultural issues concerning Council-owned trees
- Tree surveys
Further information on Tree Preservation Orders can be found here.
Further information on how we manage Ash Dieback can be found here.
In the event of a tree emergency, please call
During Office Hours:
- Mon - Fri, 9am - 5pm - 01403 215291
Out of Office Hours:
- From Friday 22 December to Sunday 31/12/23 please call 07771 541 730
- From Monday 1st January 2024 please call 07711 831 560
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Frequently Asked Questions aims to answer many of the commonly asked questions around the management of our tree stock.
Please note that except in exceptional circumstances, we are unable to offer advice or take action of trees owned on private land.
Unless there is a serious health and safety risk, the council will not prune or cut back over hanging trees.
Such matters can often be resolved by exercising your common law entitlement – cutting back to the boundary.
Please note: works should conform to British standard BS 3998:2010. The homeowner may be liable if trees decline after being pruned.
Without further consultation with the Arboricultural Team this work must be carried from within the boundaries of the property.
Cut material may not be returned to Council property without prior agreement.
Before proceeding with any of the above it is your responsibility to establish is the tree is subject to a planning constraint. This can be done by calling the Planning department’s Arboricultural Team 01403 215523 – trees@horsham.gov.uk
The council will generally not take action in this circumstance. The TV licence is a permit to operate a television receiver, it does not guarantee any reception therefore it follows that there is no legal right to reception.
In this circumstance, issues are considered seasonal and the council will not prune the trees to remove or reduce the problem.
In this circumstance, issues are considered seasonal and the council will not prune the trees to remove or reduce the problem.
Generally the Council would not prune or remove a tree purely based on its size. It would be required to meet the following criteria:
- Where a tree is presenting a genuine health & safety concern e.g. a structural defect of the stem or major branch junction, the presence of a decay fungi, or a tree in a declining condition.
- Where it has been established that a tree meets the above requirements a member of the Arboricultural Team will carry out a site visit.
If you believe this to be the case, in the first instance you should contact your home insurance provider, with any evidence and information to support your claim.
The insurer will work with the Council to determine the cause of the reported damage and settle any successful claims.
The council would only intervene in making a neighbour reduce the height of their hedges, if it could be demonstrated that all other means of resolving the issues had been exhausted.
There is a cost for this service and no guarantee that you would be granted the outcome you are seeking.
More information can be found here or by calling the Planning department’s Arboricultural Team 01403 215523 – trees@horsham.gov.uk
It should be noted that non-coniferous (beech, hawthorn etc.) hedges are not covered by the high hedges section of the Anti-Social behaviour act 2003 and so the council would not be able to compel your neighbour to act.
The UK Government website offers good guidance on the subject. Please visit their website here.
If you require any additional information or wish to report a non-urgent issue with a tree, please email parks@horsham.gov.uk, including (if possible) a photograph and location postcode.