Sleepless residents raging at council's late-night verge trimming 'Blitz'

RESIDENTS on rural lanes are furious after being woken at 1am by council verge trimmers.

Len Thomas of Pauls Lane in Sway, who is a member of the parish council, was disturbed from his sleep when a tractor armed with cutting equipment made its way down the road in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Unimpressed with the timing of the maintenance work, Len complained to Hampshire County Council reminding them of requests from Sway residents – after a previous cutting – to leave verge trimming until late autumn to protect wildlife.

“But as usual we are ignored,” he said.

Len told the A&T: “This latest episode is unbelievable. Who in their right mind would instruct verge cutting at night? I will not accept that the highways department is not responsible for the contractor’s work pattern.

“I am now into my 80s and to be woken in the night – with the windows wide open on a hot night – by the loud noise and floodlit bedroom just reminded me of the Blitz in my childhood on the outskirts of London, not a quiet rural lane in Sway.

“Then, to cap it all, they came back a little while later, I presume to cut the other side. The standard of work is also very poor because they could not look back to see in the darkness.”

Reg Rendall (82) from New Milton was also woken at 1am by verge cutting on Cull Lane, just three days after the disturbance in Sway.

“I thought it was the coming of the end of the world because it was so loud and bright with the trimmers and the flashing lights,” he said.

“It sounded like a low flying Chinook helicopter carrying out a rescue over my house. It seemed really bizarre to me to be carrying out hedge trimming work at that time of night.”

Sway resident Hugh Marchant, who is Len’s neighbour complained to HCC about the late-night work and received a response from deputy leader of Hampshire County Council and cabinet member for economy, transport and environment, Cllr Rob Humby.

It explained: “While the majority of our verge cutting programme takes place during daylight hours, we also undertake some during the evening which makes the operation less disruptive to the travelling public.

“Carrying out work at night is also safer and enables it to be completed much more quickly. Our operators make every effort to minimise disturbance to local residents, and I apologise if this was not the case during the works undertaken in Sway at the end of June.

“Hampshire County Council manages around 5,500 miles of road and 2,000 miles of roadside verges.

“Grass and foliage is only cut once a year, and done carefully to ensure an appropriate balance is maintained between safety and visibility for motorists, while protecting those verges where rare flora and wildlife are known to flourish.”

Unsatisfied, Hugh said: “I am disappointed with this response from Cllr Humby and I am at a loss as to how to respond as it makes little sense to me.

“I therefore have invited Cllr Mans and Cllr Humby to come to these lanes in Sway and explain to myself and other residents how cutting the verges at this time of year at one o’clock in the morning is in any way making the operation less disruptive, minimising disturbance to local residents.

“I would also like to know how this is ensuring an appropriate balance is maintained between safety and visibility for motorists, while protecting those verges where rare flora and wildlife are known to flourish.

“Then perhaps we might discuss a more sensible regime.”