Cllr Amy Croft takes the DIY approach to weed clearing in Grove Park

Before and after Cllr Amy Croft organised weed clearance in Ranelagh Gardens

Veni, Weedy, Vici – I came, I saw, I conquered

A group of volunteers have been out weeding a neglected bit of road not serviced by the local council, as it is privately owned.

Marianne Vassallo wrote to the Grove Park Group residents association in August about an area of pavement which she said had not been cleared of weeds for many years beside her house in Ranelagh Gardens.

It had become covered in tall weeds, and a place which people let their pets use as a public toilet.

“It smells and looks unsightly”, she told the residents’ group, but despite writing to local councillors repeatedly, she had no joy from Hounslow Council doing anything about it.

Photographs Graham Holley

When is weed clearance the Council’s responsibility?

The problem for the Council is that they have no jurisdiction over the road at it is a private road and therefore the responsibility of the landlord.

Chair of the residents’ association Graham Holley got in touch with Chiswick Riverside councillor Amy Croft, who is now the Cabinet Member for infrastructure, enforcement and recycling on Hounslow Council.

She confirmed the road did not fall under the Council’s jurisdiction as it is classed as ‘a public highway, privately maintained’, or an ‘unadopted public highway’, but nevertheless organised a group of volunteers to come and give the pavement a good clean, supported by staff from Hounslow Highways who provided tools and took the waste away.

Hounslow Highways is responsible for street cleansing, including the removal of litter from ‘unadopted’ public highways as part of its routine street cleansing programme.

As the Highway Authority, they are responsible for inspecting the highway and making safe any hazardous defects reported to them. Where permanent repairs are required, they notify the relevant landowner and request the works are carried out.

Responsibility for general maintenance – weed removal, leaf clearance and upkeep rests with the landowner.

(L) Weed clearance’ (R) Marianne Vassallo with Cllr Croft and her band of volunteers

“A practical demonstration of what can be achieved when the community comes together”

When a landowner does not step up to their responsibility, it falls to volunteers… and Marianne was delighted when they showed up on Saturday with shovels.

“They did a wonderful job”, she told The Chiswick Calendar. “I am so grateful to them. I’m very, very pleased”.

“This is a practical demonstration of what can be achieved when the community comes together to bring about improvements to people’s lives”, Graham Holley told The Chiswick Calendar.

“We are most grateful to Cllr Croft for organising this in double-quick time. Longer-term solutions might include treatment of the deep-lying roots with glyphosate, if neighbours agree, and exploring the possibility of the local authority adopting the road”.

Job done