High hedges legislation used again in neighbour dispute

Using the High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013, Margaret and Ronald Campbell, from Uddingston, called on North Lanarkshire Council to make Elizabeth Wilson cut her leylandii trees down.

The couple said the trees had been an issue since 2007 but looked to the recent legislation to deal with the problem last summer.

The council agreed that the trees should be cut down substantially but Ms Wilson successfully appealed to the Scottish government for a lesser reduction.Her garden consists of four trees, ranging in height from 33 to 49 feet. John Martin, government reporter, said the the four trees should be reduced to 13 feet and a nearby 26-foot Japanese cherry tree to 20 feet.

Mrs Campbell, 70, said the problem was the amount of light the couple were receiving and the danger they posed.

She said: “It is partly about the lack of light we get because of them but it’s mainly to do with the safety aspect.

“It is total devastation when they come down and we’ve had it in the past.

“Our grandson used to sleep in the back bedroom and I dread to think what would have happened if a tree had come down and went through the house.

“One tree that came down was 18 inches in diameter so it shows the size of them.”

She added Ms Wilson, who maintained the trees to ensure her privacy, refused to look at the trees from their garden.

She said: “We don’t want arguments with neighbours all we have asked her is to come round and look at the trees but she never wants to.”

Mr Campbell, 72, added: “When the trees get lopped we will have the sun in our garden all day, at the moment we lose all sunlight by 1pm and then have to put lights on in the house.

“We have both worked all our days and didn’t want to get involved in something like this with neighbours but that’s what has happened.”

Mr Martin said neighbours would have been aware of the trees when they moved in but that cypress leylandii grow quickly and need to be pruned otherwise they can overshadown adjoining property.

He added: “While I have some sympathy with her position, she has the benefit of a large, attractive garden with mature trees and shrubs, many of which provide adequate screening to ensure her privacy and security, so I am not convinced that these matters alone provide a sound reason for allowing these trees to thrive to such a degree in close proximity to the new houses.”

Mr Martin noted that the council’s suggestion to cut the trees down to 10 feet was “too severe” as it would lead to the “regrettable” loss of the Japanese cherry and leave the others trees “an untidy group of bare trunks which might never recover”.

He concluded the heights should be 13 feet for the cypress and 20 feet for the Japanese cherry, saying: “This will substantially improve the sunlight in the applicants’ garden while retaining the appellant’s privacy and security.”