The owner is paid NOK 50,000 to remove this hedge

The thuja hedge has grown so large that it conflicts with traffic protection. Now Westfold and Telemark County Council want to do something about it.

In Skene, a thuja hedge has been an annoyance for years. Now the county council has offered the landowner NOK 50,000 to remove or move the hedge. The district municipality will also bear the cost.

The reason: The county council believes the hedge conflicts with traffic safety on the county road that borders it. In recent years, the hedge has grown larger and larger.

– It’s not a young hedge, farm owner Knut Vastall tells VG.

The story of Hedge began in 1991. Vastall bought the farm in Skene a year ago and discovered that a nearby garden center had a sale of hedge plants.

– Suddenly I see my mother-in-law driving into the yard in a small Nissan. I think she and my wife were 100 hedge plants in that car. It spread in all directions. That was the beginning of that fence.

– There are some grumbles

Vastall estimates that the hedge is now five meters high and approximately 50 meters long.

According to the District Council’s assessment, digging the fence affects safety, he writes Telemark Newspaper He was the first to point this out. This indicates that the hedge contrasts with common stopping vision, clear vision at intersections, and clear vision at exits.

Discussions started a few years ago, but in recent years the county council has taken over the matter from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Vastel says. He also claims to have previously replaced the hedge at the latter’s behest.

– There are some grumblings among the people, he says.

The farm owner said it was not clear whether the fence was on his land or the county council’s land and they had measured the boundaries a couple of years ago.

Near the solution

He is clear that he still wants a hedge on the property – for noise and visibility reasons – as he wants to separate it from the road. Wastell says he has had a good conversation with the county council and they are working to find a solution.

– Now the question is how close the hedge can stand to the road.

He understands the county council’s point of view, but is unsure if removing the hedge will improve traffic safety.

According to the county council, most of the hedge is on their property, while parts of it are on the property boundary and on Wastall’s land.

The county council is warning that they will soon remove a section of fence on their property, writes Telemarksavisa. But they believe that it is necessary to remove the fences on the boundary line and on the Wastal’s property, so they are asking permission from the landowner to do this.

– The District Council’s letter states that such approval will be on a voluntary basis.