- Dispute over branches on bike path: Land owner must pay
A property owner, whose trees and shrubs encroach into a bike path, must bear the costs of their removal, according to a court ruling. The Administrative Court (VG) of Münster rejected the complaint of a retiree who refused to pay an invoice sent by the state-owned company Straßen.NRW for the pruning work.
The state-owned company had requested the plaintiff to trim the shrubs encroaching into the bike path on a country road in the district of Coesfeld in June and again in August 2022. After the plaintiff failed to comply, the state-owned company sent a cost estimate of 2,762.66 euros and hired a company to do the work. The plaintiff's property (80 years old) is 200 meters long.
The court ruled that the state-owned company had acted lawfully and that the costs were not excessive. The VG stated: "The plaintiff has not fulfilled the obligation imposed on him. He cannot successfully argue that he is unable to carry out the pruning of the hedge himself due to his age and health problems." It had been open to the property owner to hire a company to carry out the work himself. The retiree had claimed that there was no danger to cyclists.
A court spokesman said that the unsuccessful plaintiff could file an appeal with the Higher Administrative Court of Münster within one month.
The retiree could have avoided the additional costs by hiring a company to trim the encroaching shrubs, as stated by the court, since his age and health issues were not valid reasons for not complying with the request. Despite claiming that there was no danger to cyclists, the state-owned company was justified in their cycling path maintenance actions.
