A FURIOUS man waged a six year war against his neighbour over light-blocking trees – but now it’s up to the government to settle the dispute.
The neighbours have been in lengthy discussions which have since come to a halt.
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Alan Armitage insists his life is being made a misery by a hedge owned by his neighbour in the coastal village of Aberlady in East Lothian, Scotland.
He claims the trees are having a ‘detrimental’ impact on his £500,000 house and stops sunlight reaching his garden.
His neighbour Colin McInnes retorted that he trimmed his hedge on an annual basis.
However, communication quickly broke down.
This prompted Alan to turn to the local council in a bid to have them chopped down under high hedge laws.
But he was left frustrated when officials said the trees did not breach guidelines because they were less than 14ft tall.
The neighbours had been in lengthy discussions since 2017 but attempts by East Lothian Council’s mediation team to reach a compromise saw talks stall.
Alan has now appealed the ruling to the Scottish Government.
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In one letter to his neighbour, Alan said: “Unfortunately I find myself in the position of having to write to you regarding the height of your garden trees.
“As previously discussed on numerous occasions, these have a detrimental effect on the sunlight that flows into our garden and the rear of our house.
He continued: “We have discussed this previously and I was led to believe that you agreed to have these trees trimmed each year.
“You have done this before, however, despite me sending repeated emails you have refused to do so.”
Colin emailed back: “I’ve had a look at the trees that are on our border.
“I think it would be useful to me if you could highlight what your issue is with them as I cannot see why they are causing you an issue.”
Rejecting his application for a high hedge notice, East Lothian Council said: “As the current height of hedges A and B are not currently 6m in height, the hedges do not cause a significant loss of sunlight of daylight, to the applicant’s dwelling house, nor do they have the potential to cause significant loss of light in the not too distant future.
“It is therefore decided that this application for a high hedge notice be refused on the basis that the hedges at their current height do not affect the reasonable enjoyment of the dwelling house.”
The government is set to make a decision in due course.
These aren’t the first neighbours stuck in a lengthy dispute.
If you’re also locked in a gruelling battle with your neighbour, here is how to find out your rights.
If you’re in a dispute with a neighbour about property boundaries, you can get the Land Registry to step in.
Fences can also be a source of disputes between neighbours and it can be particularly tricky if one was built behind your back.
But there’s plenty of ways to check out your rights.
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