This suburb’s a bit too leafy...
A COMPANY director has been ordered to cut down his 50ft hedge after losing a long battle with neighbours who claim the trees have ruined their lives. Financial manager Adam Bernard, 40, became locked in a war of words with fed-up neighbours Gloria McIvor and Andy Paterson over the fast-growing leylandii hedge and ash trees on his £425,000 property.
The neighbours used high hedge laws after discussions failed to produce an agreement and South Lanarkshire Council ordered Mr Bernard, of East Kilbride, to reduce the height of the leylandii but spared the ash trees.
However, the furious neighbours took their fight to the Scottish Government in a bid to have the remaining trees chopped down while Mr Bernard appealed to have the hedge spared.
A government reporter has now ruled that the leylandii will have to be reduced to 6ft but rejected calls for the ash trees to be cut down.
Mrs McIvor, 63, a retired NHS worker, and her husband Jack, 62, said branches crashing into their property had forced them to ban their granddaughter from playing in the back garden.
Mr Paterson, 42, said he has never let his 12-year-old daughter play in his back garden because of safety fears over the trees.
Mr Bernard said his privacy would be affected with a lower hedge and pleaded for a compromise.
He wrote: ‘If the leylandii are to be reduced to two metres this will affect our privacy as we will have a clear line of sight into the neighbours’ property which we would not want, and would have a detrimental effect on the value of my property.’
Mrs McIvor said: ‘Having tried to discuss in the past the detrimental effect his trees are having on my family life, I find his comments farcical and insulting.
‘My dreams of having a garden with a swing, paddling pool, etc for me to enjoy watching my grandchildren grow have been shattered.’
Mr Bernard has until the end of September to carry out the work.