hedges ruined

[tigertom]

Just this 2 months on the estate were I live my housing association has be cutting hedges and the way it has been done to me is taking away most of the nest sites for the garden birds, I have been in contact with them asking why they needed to cut them so hard was told they can not be any higher due to heath and safety when cutting(They cut most of them with a tractor) did voice my concerns over loss of the habitat and pointed out song bird decline and this dos not help got told this is a national problem not ours.




above some of the hedges they cut and these not the worst

below what they look like on another estate near and how I would like to see them on mine luckily this estate is managed by a different association good for them



I will be sending an Email to the head office to complain more about this as they also over last 4 years cut down over 200 trees on the estate

[Kleftiwallah]

Is there ANYTHING that 'those in authority' will not resort to the old "elf & saftee ruse when challenged? Cheers, Tony.

[fairplay]

Why not suggest to the council that they GRUB UP these useless shrubs and plant Blackthorn and Hawthorn instead ?

Neil.

[The Woodman]

Do I not see Hawthorn, Alder and Field Maple in the images?

[tigertom]

Originally Posted by The Woodman

Do I not see Hawthorn, Alder and Field Maple in the images?

yes in both the hedges that were cut in my estate, and those that are left and only trimed on the near by one.
one of resons quoted for the them being reduced in size on my estate was so those cuting them were at less risk from thorns
MIKE

[The Woodman]

The lunatics are running the asylum.

[fairplay]

I only had a quick look at the overgrown hedges (last 2 photos) and assumed they were Laurel and evergreen Privet - good for nesting in, but not much good for anything else.

But if the mix is the same as the other 'pruned' photos then I assumed wrongly.

Could there be other reasons why the hedge needs to be cut back because where I live, the building has been divided into several flats and outside we have a border planted with thorny shrubs.

These have to be regularly cut back because the idiotic planners decided to place the shrubs where the water metres are - the tenants need to read them and so do the Water Company.

Neil.

[Jim Ford]

The trouble is that it's all subcontracted out - to the lowest tender (with usually the lowest standards!).

I spoke with someone involved with subcontracting the cutting of grass in our local parks, a few years ago. They had to specify a minimum length of grass in the contract, as well as the expected maximum. When I asked why, they told me that unless they did, the contractors would 'scalp' the grass down to the earth, so they wouldn't have to do it so often.

Our local public toilet used to be spotless, with all the copper and brass work polished to a mirror. It was obvious that the attendant was a local man that took pride in providing a clean facility for local people - friends, relations, neighbours. Now it's contracted out - 'bish bosh', in and out for a 'quick buck'.

It's all like that now. People looking to make quick money from soft targets like councils (and hence taxpayers!).

It's called 'Free Enterprise'!

Jim

[tigertom]

Think Jim's hit the nail on head there the hedges on my estate are manged by contractors who have cut them right back as low as 18in in some cases. Those on the one other estate bottom pics are managed in house by three or four locals for there housing association who pay them and provide the equipment and will have clipped them all back not to much by end of jan both estates are identical in design yet totally diferent in one aspect hedges IMO distroyed on mine not a lot of trees left. on the other loads of trees good hedges for wildlife.
MIKE

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by tigertom

Think Jim's hit the nail on head there the hedges on my estate are manged by contractors who have cut them right back as low as 18in in some cases.

It figures - cut them a low as they can get away with, so they don't have to come back again for a long while. Like I said - grab the money 'bish bosh', in and out!

Those on the one other estate bottom pics are managed in house by three or four locals for there housing association who pay them and provide the equipment and will have clipped them all back not to much

Yes, the people doing the work have to live there, so it matters to them what the place looks like. They also wouldn't want an 'ear bending' from their neighbours if they made an eyesore of the job!

Jim