There were 21 applications made to the council under the West Cork Community Hedge Cutting Scheme this year, requesting a total of €30,010. The scheme, applications for which closed on August 1st, encourages communities and landowners to cut trees and hedges that need attention at a rate of a maximum €50 per kilometre.
The amount sought vastly exceeds the council’s budget of €20,000, and so all applications will received about 67% of what they sought. Before the closing date, the council had said that in the event of a large number of applications, priority would be given to those roads that facilitate school buses and other public and special needs transportation routes, as well as to narrow
roads.
Rules of the scheme mean that a minimum of a five kilometre continuous stretch of road must be applied for, however exceptional circumstances were considered. Grants were calculated on the actual length of hedging or trees that need attention, and not the length of road, although if both ditches on either side of the road the grant amount is doubled.
For those successful, all hedgecutting must be carried out between September 1st and the last day of February. No grant will be paid out until the council is satisfied that all hedgecutting and tree cutting is completed to the required standard.
The information was shared with local councillors at a recent West Cork Municipal District meeting, the first to be held after the summer break.
