Axed! Owner of mansion loses f ight to keep trees
A MANSION owner has failed in his bid to stop a ‘green wall’ of 50ft trees on his property from being cut down. Dr David Hamilton has been embroiled in a three-year row with neighbour Stacey Chalmers over the red cedars after she complained they starved her property of sunlight.
Dr Hamilton owns Isla Bank House in Keith, Moray, a 12-bedroom property built around 1892 that is rented out to tourists who wish to ‘live like a laird’.
But the surrounding trees cast an ‘overwhelming’ shadow over the home Miss Chalmers, leaving her ‘stressed and overwhelmed’.
She said numerous attempts to reach an amicable resolution with her Norfolkbased neighbour had failed, and Moray Council bosses ordered a large section of the 230ft long stretch of trees be cut back to 26ft.
Dr Hamilton appealed to the Scottish Government to halt the order, but he has now been told that they have to go.
Miss Chalmers used high hedge laws to have the trees removed.
A report by council planners after visits to her home said: ‘The hedge is between 45ft and 52ft high and results in a significant impact on the applicant’s windows and rear private garden space.
‘The hedge creates an unacceptable and overpowering sense of enclosure, not only restricting direct sunlight during the later afternoon and evening but also reducing the general daylight gained from the skyscape.
‘In the applicant’s kitchen, given the height of the hedge, it is difficult to obtain a view of any sky without bending down and looking up at a narrow angle. This illustrates the dominant green wall effect the hedge is having.’
The report added: ‘The hedge has a significant adverse effect on the reasonable enjoyment of the property.’
Dr Hamilton had asked for the work to be halted. He said: ‘Mrs Murray’s initial complaint brought about an opportunity for dialogue. we agreed the trees should be thinned out, the branches cut back and the height reduced somewhat.’
He added: ‘The action taken has resulted in the garden now receiving as much sunlight as one could reasonably expect.’ Government reporter Chris Norman has ordered the cuts be carried out by September. He said: ‘The amount of daylight and sunlight received in westfacing rooms, and the western garden, was significantly reduced due to the height of the hedge.
‘I found the high hedge to be an exceptionally dominant and overpowering feature, causing a sense of enclosure of the property.’