When Commercial Grounds Maintenance Becomes a Legal Issue
When people think about grounds maintenance, they usually think about how a site looks. As someone who runs a commercial grounds maintenance business, I can tell you that appearance is only part of the story. Keeping commercial grounds well maintained is usually a matter of presentation, safety and good property management. But in certain circumstances, neglected vegetation, waste, invasive plants or unsafe grounds can also create legal responsibilities or lead to enforcement action.
In this article I want to walk you through some of the main laws and government guidance that can affect commercial landowners and occupiers. In plain English explain how a planned grounds maintenance service can help manage some of these risks.
When the council can require action on untidy land
One of the most direct powers sits in section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. It allows a local planning authority, in certain circumstances, to serve a notice on the owner or occupier of land where the condition of that land is considered to adversely affect the amenity of the surrounding area. The notice can require specific steps to improve its condition within a set period. That does not mean every overgrown or untidy commercial property is automatically breaking the law. Councils have to consider the individual circumstances and whether the condition of the land is genuinely harming local amenities. Where a valid section 215 notice is served, failing to comply can be a criminal offence. The local authority also have the power to carry out the required work and seek to recover its costs.
For commercial property managers, the practical lesson is straightforward: allowing a site to deteriorate significantly can eventually become more than a presentation issue.
Injurious and invasive weeds
Some plants also carry specific legal responsibilities. The Weeds Act 1959 identifies five injurious weeds: common ragwort, spear thistle, creeping or field thistle, broad-leaved dock and curled dock. Simply having one of these plants on your land is not in itself unlawful. The main concern is their spread, particularly onto neighbouring agricultural land used for livestock, hay, silage or other agricultural purposes. Natural England can take action in qualifying cases where a landowner has failed to control that risk.
Invasive plants are a different issue.
Japanese knotweed is the one that concerns many commercial property owners. It is not automatically illegal to have Japanese knotweed on your land, and there is no general legal requirement to eradicate it simply because it is present.
However, you must take steps to prevent it spreading off your property. Causing it to spread into the wild can be an offence. Spread onto neighbouring property can also create a private nuisance issue.
Soil or plant material contaminated with Japanese knotweed may also be classed as controlled waste and has to be managed and disposed of correctly. Spotting a suspected problem early and obtaining appropriate specialist advice is generally far easier than discovering it after the plant has spread.
Overhanging hedges and trees
Boundary vegetation can also become a legal issue where it affects a public highway. Under section 154 of the Highways Act 1980, a highway authority can serve notice on the owner or occupier where a hedge, tree or shrub overhangs a road or public footpath in a way that endangers or obstructs vehicles or pedestrians, interferes with drivers’ visibility or blocks light from a public lamp. If the required work is not carried out, the authority has the power to undertake it and recover the reasonable costs. For commercial sites with roadside or pavement boundaries, planned vegetation management therefore has a practical safety purpose as well as keeping the property presentable.
Keeping people safe underfoot
Alongside appearance sits safety, and the two can sometimes overlap. Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, an occupier owes lawful visitors a common duty of care and must take reasonable care in the circumstances to see that visitors are reasonably safe when using the premises for the purposes for which they are invited or permitted to be there. Grounds maintenance is only one part of that wider responsibility, but external hazards can matter. Heavy leaf fall on pedestrian routes, vegetation restricting access or visibility, and damaged or dangerous trees may all require appropriate attention depending on the circumstances. A sensible maintenance regime can therefore contribute to the wider process of keeping external areas safely managed, while issues outside the routine grounds maintenance scope should be identified and escalated appropriately.
Litter, waste and the duty of care
Waste law is another area where the detail matters. Section 89 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 places duties to keep land clear of litter and refuse on specified public bodies and certain types of land. It is not a blanket duty applying in exactly the same way to every commercial property. Commercial organisations and contractors can, however, have separate responsibilities under the waste duty of care. Anyone who produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste has responsibilities for managing it correctly. Waste must be stored securely, transferred only to an authorised person where required, and accompanied by the appropriate information and documentation.
For grounds maintenance contractors, this includes ensuring that green waste and other material produced through their work is handled and transferred through the correct waste routes. Using a contractor that manages its waste properly is therefore part of responsible commercial site management.
Tidying up the right way
There is one more important point: the way grounds work is carried out can itself be regulated. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects wild birds and active nests. It is an offence to take, damage or destroy the nest of a wild bird while that nest is in use or being built, with additional protections applying to certain species. That means hedge, shrub and tree work should take account of active nesting birds. Outside of agricultural settings, there is no single statutory “nesting season” during which all hedge cutting is automatically prohibited, but relevant vegetation should be checked and adjusted where active nests are present. Professional plant protection products also have specific rules. Anyone using products authorised for professional use must hold an appropriate recognised certificate, or in qualifying training circumstances work under the direct supervision of someone who does. Protected trees need separate consideration too. Work to a tree protected by a Tree Preservation Order will normally require the relevant consent, while certain work to trees in a conservation area generally requires six weeks’ prior notice to the local planning authority unless an exemption applies. In other words, maintaining commercial grounds properly is not simply about completing the physical work. It is also about knowing when additional checks, permissions or specialist input may be required.
How planned grounds maintenance helps manage these risks
This is one of the reasons we have built Roff Co around planned commercial maintenance rather than simply attending sites when the grass looks long. Our routine contracts work to an agreed maintenance programme supported by site specific working arrangements, appropriate risk documentation and digital service records. Relevant hedge and vegetation work takes account of active nesting birds. Professional pesticide applications are carried out by appropriately certificated operators, and waste produced through our maintenance work is managed through the appropriate waste routes. Just as importantly, we identify an obvious issue outside the agreed routine maintenance programme- whether that is suspected invasive vegetation, damaged boundaries or something requiring specialist tree advice – we can report it to the client so that an appropriate decision can be made. That does not replace the property owner’s or occupier’s own legal responsibilities, and a grounds maintenance contractor cannot guarantee that a site complies with every law that may apply to it. What a properly managed maintenance service can provide is regular oversight of the grounds, documented routine work and earlier visibility of many of the external issues that could otherwise be missed.
If you would like a practical view of how your current grounds maintenance is being managed, we are happy to discuss what a planned maintenance programme could look like.
Frequently asked questions
Can the council really make me tidy my land?
In certain circumstances, yes. Under section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, a local planning authority can serve a notice where it considers the condition of land to be adversely affecting the amenity of the surrounding area.
A notice can require specific works within a set period. Failure to comply with a valid notice can be a criminal offence, and the authority can have powers to carry out the work and recover its costs.
Whose responsibility is an overhanging hedge or tree?
It depends on the circumstances.
Under section 154 of the Highways Act 1980, a highway authority can serve notice on the owner or occupier where vegetation overhanging a highway or public footpath is causing danger or obstruction, interfering with drivers’ visibility or blocking light from a public lamp.
Do I have to remove Japanese knotweed from my land?
There is no general legal requirement to eradicate Japanese knotweed simply because it is present on your land.
You must, however, prevent it from spreading off your property, and causing it to spread into the wild can be an offence. Spread onto neighbouring land can also create a private nuisance issue.
Where knotweed or contaminated soil is removed, specific waste controls may apply and specialist advice is recommended.
What counts as an injurious weed, and am I responsible?
The Weeds Act 1959 identifies five injurious weeds: common ragwort, spear thistle, creeping or field thistle, broad-leaved dock and curled dock.
Their presence is not automatically unlawful. The main concern is preventing significant spread onto neighbouring agricultural land, particularly where livestock, hay, silage or crops may be affected. Natural England can take action in qualifying cases.
Is keeping a business's grounds tidy actually a legal requirement?
There is no single blanket law requiring every commercial property to be kept “tidy”.
There are, however, a number of separate legal duties and enforcement powers that can apply depending on the circumstances. These include powers relating to seriously neglected land, highway obstructions, invasive plants, waste, visitor safety, protected trees and wildlife.
Planned grounds maintenance can help manage many of the routine issues involved, but the precise legal responsibilities will depend on the individual site.
Looking to Improve Your Grounds Maintenance?
If you’re reviewing your current grounds maintenance contractor or looking for a more structured approach to managing your commercial estate, we’d be happy to help.
At Roff Co, we deliver planned, dependable grounds maintenance services backed by clear communication, digital reporting and long-term maintenance planning, giving facilities managers one less thing to worry about.
About the author
Sam Roff is a Director of Roff Co, a commercial only grounds maintenance contractor serving businesses, property managers and facilities teams across West Kent and neighbouring East Sussex.
Roff Co provides planned commercial grounds maintenance supported by scheduled attendance, digital service reporting, appropriate health and safety controls and direct local accountability.