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Hedges and trees prejudicial to roads.
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34.—(1) A hedge or tree shall be deemed to be prejudicial to a road within the meaning of this section if and when the hedge or tree—
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(a) shades the road to such extent that the maintenance of the road is thereby made unduly difficult or expensive, or
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(b) causes an obstruction on the road, or
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(c) obstructs the view of persons using the road so that the road thereby becomes dangerous to persons using it.
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(2) When a hedge or tree is prejudicial to a road, the county surveyor or the urban district council (as the case may require) may by request in writing served on the owner and on the occupier of the land on which such hedge or tree is growing request such owner and such occupier within twenty-one days after the service of the notice to trim or cut such hedge or tree so that it will no longer be prejudicial to the road, or, where such course appears to be necessary, to cut down and remove such hedge or tree.
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(3) A request under the foregoing sub-section may be served on an occupier of land and, where any difficulty arises in ascertaining the name or address of an owner of land, on such owner by posting such request or a copy thereof in a conspicuous position on the land.
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(4) If an occupier of land on whom a notice is served under this section could not but for this section lawfully comply with the request without the consent of the owner of the land or of a superior landlord the following provisions shall apply, that is to say:—
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(a) the owner or any superior landlord of the land may within ten days after the service of the request on the owner apply to a Justice of the District Court for an order annulling such request, and such application, when notice thereof has been served on the occupier of the land and on the county surveyor or urban district council by whom the request was served, shall operate to suspend the request for one month or until the said application is disposed of by the Justice whichever shall be the shorter period;
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(b) on any such application as aforesaid the Justice of the District Court may, if he is satisfied that the request is unreasonable or that compliance with it is unnecessary or unduly prejudicial to the applicant, either annul altogether or amend in such way as he thinks proper the request;
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(c) where a Justice of a District Court on the hearing of such application as aforesaid either refuses the application or amends the request, the request in its original form or as so amended (as the case may require) shall be deemed to have been served on the date of the order of the Justice and shall have effect accordingly;
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(d) if neither the owner nor any superior landlord gives notice, within ten days after the service on the owner of the request under this section, of such application as aforesaid to a Justice of the District Court, the occupier may at the expiration of such ten days comply with the request without the consent of the owner or any superior landlord, and in such case no action shall lie by or on behalf of the owner or any superior landlord for or in respect of anything bona fide done by the occupier for the purpose of complying with the request;
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(e) the person whose consent is necessary to the cutting down of a tree required by a request to be cut down may by notice in writing served on the occupier at any time before the request is complied with claim such tree, and in such case the property in such tree when cut down in compliance with the request shall vest in the person by whom such notice was served and such tree when cut down may be removed by him.
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(5) Where a request under this section is not complied with within twenty-one days after the same has been served on the owner and on the occupier, the county surveyor or urban district council by whom the request was served may apply to a Justice of the District Court for an order that the request be complied with and on the hearing of such application the Justice—
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(a) if he is satisfied that the hedge or tree mentioned in the request is prejudicial to the road and that compliance with the request is reasonably necessary, shall order the occupier of the land on which the hedge or tree is growing to comply with the request within fourteen days; and
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(b) in any other case may either refuse the application or amend the request in such manner as he thinks proper and order the request as so amended to be complied with by the occupier within fourteen days.
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(6) Where an occupier of land fails to comply with an order of a Justice of the District Court under the foregoing sub-section within fourteen days from the date of the order, the county surveyor or urban district council on whose application the order was made may himself or themselves comply with the request or amended request to which the order relates and may do all such acts and things (including entering on land) as may be necessary for that purpose, and in such case the said county surveyor or urban district council shall be entitled to recover from the occupier in the District Court as a civil debt all expenses which the District Justice shall consider reasonable.
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(7) Where a Justice of the District Court makes an order under this section requiring an occupier to comply with a request or amended request which requires a hedge to be cut down and removed and the Justice is of opinion that the removal of the hedge will be unduly prejudicial to the owner or occupier of the land unless a suitable fence is erected on the site of the hedge, the Justice may fix a sum as a reasonable contribution to be made by the county council or urban district council towards the cost of the erection of such suitable fence and may order such sum to be paid by the county council or urban district council to the occupier (or, if the Justice so thinks fit, to the owner), and the payment thereof to be treated as part of the expenses of maintaining the road.
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(8) Nothing in this section shall authorise a county surveyor or urban district council to trim or cut any hedge or tree at any time between the last day of March and the last day of September nor authorise any person to be requested or ordered to trim or cut a hedge or tree between those days.
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(9) Where the time limited by a request or order under this section for trimming or cutting a hedge or tree expires between the last day of March and the last day of September such time shall be deemed to be extended to the following seventh day of October.
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(10) Where an occupier of land holds that land under a lease or other contract of tenancy, the immediate landlord of the occupier shall be deemed to be the owner of that land for the purpose of this section, and in any other case the occupier of the land shall be deemed to be the owner thereof for the purpose aforesaid.
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(11) A Justice of the District Court when making any order (including the refusal of an application) under this section may at his discretion order the costs, to an amount not exceeding three guineas, incurred in relation to the proceedings by any party thereto to be paid by any other party thereto.
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(12) So much of the Summary Jurisdiction (Ireland) Act, 1851, as relates to the case of a public road being prejudiced by the shade of any hedge or tree, or to any obstruction being caused in any public road by any hedge or tree shall cease to have effect.
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