'It makes it difficult for me to get out': Northampton resident's fight to get overgrown hedge trimmed after first reporting it months ago

A Northampton man who is struggling to enter and exit his home due to an overgrown hedge has been reporting the issue for several months asking for the greenery to be trimmed.

Tony Cannon, who lives in Brunswick Walk, Abington relies on a mobility scooter, which he cannot get past the branches of the hedge.

The 64-year-old first reported the problem to the local authority in August when he was told a contractor would deal with the hedge within ten days.

Tony continued to report the overgrown hedge, which he claims takes up 60 percent of the path to the front and the side of his bungalow, if he does not clip it back himself.

The last time the issue was reported was mid-October, but still nothing has been done.

Tony said: “I can’t get past the branches when I’m on my mobility scooter as they take up so much of the path, but they should never be more than a metre high.

“I have arthritis and in the winter it really affects me. I can only really get out two or three times a week and I’m struggling with that now as I have to keep going out there to cut the bushes back so I can get my mobility scooter round there.

“It makes it really difficult for me to get out.

“And it’s not just me. It affects other people too. There are other people round here with pushchairs and they can’t get past either.”

Tony has lived in the bungalow for around four years, but says the overgrown hedge has only become a problem in the last two years.

Northampton Partnership Homes (NPH), the company responsible for the housing in the area, has confirmed that the issue will be tended to more regularly to avoid Tony’s access problems.

Nicky McKenzie, assistant director for housing at NPH, said: “We are sorry for the access problems caused by the bushes around Mr Cannon’s home. We visited Mr Cannon last year to improve the access, which included clearing some of the hedging.

“However, the type of hedging means it grows quickly, and the warmer weather has an impact on this.

“We will visit Mr Cannon to prune the hedge today (Friday November 13), and will increase how often we visit in the future to stop this becoming a problem again.”

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