Groups of blind and partially sighted people in London are encouraging residents to cut back their foliage to increase their independence.
Groups of blind and partially sighted (BPS) people in London are encouraging residents to cut back their foliage to increase their independence.
Sight Loss Councils (SLCs), funded by Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT), are regional groups led by blind and partially sighted volunteers. Together, they tackle local issues, and work with organisations to ensure what they do is accessible and inclusive.
SLC volunteer members are spearheading this campaign because 75 per cent of blind and partially sighted people reported that ‘Overhanging branches, overgrown hedges and vegetation are a real deterrent to people and a cause of accidents’ (Listening Month, 2022).
This is because many blind and partially sighted people are forced to walk onto the road and risk injury whilst navigating the streets due to overgrown hedges, bushes and foliage. This impacts their confidence, independence, and the ability to make safe journeys to live full and independent lives.
To deliver their campaign, Sight Loss Council volunteers have produced a series of short videos highlighting the issue. They have also produced online guidance and resources, including around the best times of the year to cut foliage back and how to avoid an impact on local wildlife. They are also raising awareness in local media.
Local authorities are also legally obliged to act on reports of overgrown foliage so people can navigate our streets and are safe from injury, and guidance has been developed by Thomas Pocklington Trust to support them to do this.
Thomas Pocklington Trust’s London SLC Senior Engagement Manager Nicki Guy said:
“Many BPS individuals have reported that they have been hurt, injured, and had their path blocked by overgrown bushes, overhanging branches and foliage. This can reduce people’s confidence to travel independently and safely, and discourage people from going out.
“We hope everyone will work with us to raise awareness of this issue and encourage everyone to cut it back.
“Local residents can also report problem overhanging vegetation and foliage to their local authority. Under the Highways Act 1980, local authorities can require landowners to cut back overhanging branches and vegetation if it endangers or obstructs the passage of pedestrians.
London Sight Loss Council volunteer member and London resident Nikki Hughes, who is registered blind, shared her own experience of overhanging vegetation in the local area. She said:
“I would urge everyone to get involved in our cut it back campaign. Not having safe and accessible streets means I am unable to access the world independently.
“It can be extremely frightening to come across overgrown bushes, which sometimes covers the pavement causing me to end up in the road, praying that a car will see me. It can also be painful and disorientating to be hit in the face by overgrown vegetation.
“Everyone should be able to pop to the local shop free and independently and something so simple can be life changing for us.”
Get involved in the cut it back campaign. Learn more here.
