Paths aren’t just for cyclists. They’re a lifeline for disabled buggies and wheelchairs, baby buggies, children on scooters, and even skaters – and pedestrians too, of course! But Hayling’s paths have become almost unusable in places, but there’s no one group to represent all those people.
So what’s PathWatch?
PathWatch is Cycle Hayling’s campaign to monitor Hayling’s paths of all types, and get minimum useable path widths. Not just for kids to cycle to school – for child buggies, the disabled, for everyone who doesn’t have a car. And yes, adults to cycle too. Where’s there no safe cycle path, like Havant Rd, we think all footpaths should be shared unless there’s some really strong over-riding safety issue.
Who’s Responsible?
Cutting back hedges is generally the responsibility of the landowner, but Hampshire County Council, as the Transport Authority, is responsible for ensuring they do it, with the power to take over and bill them if it’s not done within 14 days.
To be fair, on a busy main road like ours, it’s a difficult and dangerous job, and cutting it back to 1990 path width will be even more, so it would actually be better delegated to professionals. There are many individual landowners, and we need the whole path done to the right uniform standard, not a postcode lottery. Yes, bird nesting season does restrict cutting, but there are exemptions like public safety.
How to report a problem
- If you know the landowner, ask them to trim back their hedges!
- Hampshire Highways Trees/Hedges: hants.gov.uk/transport/highways/report-a-problem/treehedge
- Hampshire Highways Pavement issues: hants.gov.uk/transport/highways/report-a-problem/paving
- Hampshire Highways other problem: hants.gov.uk/transport/highways/report-a-problem
- Hampshire Highways emergency that poses an immediate risk to the public, call either:
0300 555 1388 (8:30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday) or
Outside of office hours: 101 - TRACK PROGRESS on a Hampshire Highways problem, enquiry or application: hants.gov.uk/transport/highways
- If you don’t get the response you need, ask your Hampshire County Councillor for help, currently Lance Quantrill.
- And Tell Cycle Hayling! so we can update our database.
Let’s keep Hayling’s paths usable for everyone. Thank you.