After 31 years, 40ft Leylandii ‘forest’ is set to get the chop
A LONG-RUNNING neighbourhood feud over a 40ft ‘hedge’ has finally come to an end – 31 years after it began.
Householders in Buchlyvie, Stirlingshire – a village of only 500 residents – have been in dispute with Catriona MacGregor over her towering Leylandii trees after she stopped cutting them back.
They claimed that the 40 trees making up the hedge surrounding her property blocked sunlight and ruined gardens.
Now the Scottish Government has stepped in and ordered Miss MacGregor to cut down the ‘forest’ of trees.
The ruling comes after the hedge was deemed to be spoiling the neighbours’ enjoyment of their homes by Government reporter Mike Croft, who wrote up a 12,500 word report on the issue. Yesterday, neighbours spoke of their relief, but raised doubts over whether Miss MacGregor would actually take action. One resident, who wit- nessed the Leylandii being planted, said: ‘i’m pleased but i’ll believe it when i see it. She has until October 17 to cut them down, i can’t see her doing it.
‘Then it’s up to Stirling Council. My main fear is that it’s going to be a big job. We offered to cut them down years ago, the next door neighbour is a lumberjack. She never took him up on it.’
Hedge branches block windows of the adjoining house, while homes with gardens next to her property struggle to get sunlight at certain times of day.
One resident complained that their garden had turned to moss because the hedge’s roots were sucking nutrients from the soil.
Another said that a large shadow is cast over their garden after 4pm in the summer.
Those living next door are forced to have their lights on during the day as so much sunlight is being blocked out.
Miss MacGregor told the Scottish Government reporter that the hedge was a ‘shelter belt’ to protect against wind and there were birds nesting inside it.
She also suggested there were privacy issues, meaning she did not wish to cut them down at all.
But Mr Croft rejected this, calling her demands ‘ excessive’. After neighbours had complained about the state of the hedge, Stirling Council ordered Miss MacGregor ten times to cut different sections to different heights, ranging from 10ft to 19ft.
This was rejected by some of those living nearby, as they felt the hedge was still too high.
residents then appealed to the Scottish Government through the High Hedge Act. in his report, Mr Croft said Miss MacGregor had suffered ill-health for some years due to worrying about the hedge.
She had said she suffered from angina and hypertension.
But Mr Croft ruled in favour of long- suffering residents, saying that the hedge had ‘significant adverse effects’ on those living nearby.
The hedge must now be cut to 6.5ft feet in some places and 10ft in other sections. Miss MacGregor said yesterday that she had not been informed of the decision and was ‘shocked’ that the reporter had ruled against her.
She added: ‘i’m surprised at the decision. it wasn’t a hedge 30 years ago, it was a row of saplings.
‘it seems to be grossly exaggerated.
‘i don’t know what’s happening. i’ve not heard anything from the government since April.
‘The hedge looks shocking in pictures but physically it’s a different matter entirely.’
Miss MacGregor said that she had not spoken to her neighbours in five years.
She added: ‘it can be quite windy – there’s often high winds.’
She also claimed that she was now too old to trim the hedge herself, leading to it becoming overgrown.
When told how much would have to be cut off the trees she added: ‘i’m s c ared of t hi s . That’s ridiculous.
‘There are birds nesting in those trees. i’ve been looking after those birds for 30 years.
‘There will be nothing left, only stumps.’
‘I can’t see her doing it’