High Hedges Act: Buchlyvie ‘forest’ felled

Workers took chainsaws to the 40ft hedge in the village of Buchylvie near Stirling yesterday in work that is expected to take several days, The Herald reports.

Residents of the village won their battle in June this year when government officials ordered that the excessively tall leylandii hedge belonging to a reclusive owner be cut down following complaints from locals that it left them in darkness.

Owner of the hedge, Catriona MacGregor, as well as her neighbours, appealed to the government to resolve the dispute using the new act.

Officials issued a 12,500 word ruling last October stating that the “forest” of trees in the small garden should be drastically reduced because it spoiled the neighbours’ ability to enjoy their homes.

Ms MacGregor planted the hedge in 1983.

At first, she maintained its height at eight feet. However, she stopped trimming it – resulting in about 40 trees growing to 40 feet. This left her neighbours in the shade, with one having to turn the lights on in broad daylight.

After a failed attempt at mediation, residents looked to legislation to solve the problem. Stirling Council issued ten notices requiring the hedge to be scaled back.

Ms MacGregor claimed she suffered from angina and hypertension as a result of worrying about her gigantic hedge and said it was essential for nesting birds; that it afforded her privacy and that it was not in fact a hedge but a bulwark against the wind.

But Scottish government reporter Mike Croft ordered that a section of the hedge to be cut down to about six feet and that the rest should not exceed nine feet – even though this could kill the plants.

A neighbour whose house is beside Ms MacGregor’s said last June: “It’s been going on for 20 or 30 years, everyone has been up in arms about it, every household was united.

“But until the new act came into force, there was nothing we could do about it. We lose three or four hours of sunlight a day, the ground gets very arid and it grows nothing.

“It’s a bit ridiculous it’s had to come to this, but she’s refused to talk about it. We just hope now that this all has come to an end, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

“There’s no way she’ll pay to have it done, it’ll have to come down to Stirling Council.”

This particular case has accounted for over 25 per cent of all appeals across Scotland made to ministers since the inception of the High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013.

But Ms MacGregor ignored the ruling, resulting in the current action. She will be served a bill likely in the thousands of pounds.

It is thought this is the first case requiring council intervention in reducing the height of hedges since the act came into force.

Neighbour Johnnie Simpson, worst affected of the villagers, welcomed the news.

He said: “It’s been a long, long fight. I heard six boys had turned up, ready to go, and I was so happy.

“I can’t wait to get home and see what it looks like, it’s going to be amazing.

“We’ve never had the sun, we’ve never even really been able to see out of our windows or our other neighbours, so it will take some getting used to. It’s just in time for spring, which is great.”

A council spokeswoman said: “A team has commenced cutting of the hedge in compliance with the high hedge notice. While we are unable at this time to confirm exact costs for this work, Stirling Council will pay upfront, and is entitled to seek to recover these costs from the landowner.”