Couple win five-year battle against neighbour to chop down 33ft Leylandii tree that left home in darkness
Council bosses have ordered Yacine Titi to cut down his 33ft Leylandii trees after Stewart and Linda Shankland said their lives were a misery because of them
A MAN has been forced to cut down massive trees in his garden after neighbours complained they plunged their property into darkness.
Council bosses have ordered Yacine Titi to cut down his 33ft Leylandii trees after Stewart and Linda Shankland said their lives were a misery because of them.
Mr Titi, 42, hit back and said the trees are popular in Lanarkshire in Scotland and claimed they act as a barrier between his house and a railway line.
The Shanklands used high hedge legislation to force Mr Titi to take action after mediation broke down.
The council approved their demands and ordered a section of hedge to be removed and others to be cut down to 12ft.
Mr Titi appealed to the Scottish Government in a bid to leave the hedges the way they were but officials have now sided with the council and ordered them to be lopped.
But he won a partial reprieve after a reporter set a maximum height of 15ft for sections of the hedge.
UNABLE TO SOLVE DISPUTE
Mr Titi had outlined how he had previously tried to solve the dispute.
He said: "The trees discussed have been there since we moved into the property in 2013 and are very mature.
"On two occasions we have approached Mr Shankland to have him give us a convenient time and date for our tree surgeons to reduce the height of the trees and thin them down in order to give Mr Shankland more light into his home.
"We thought this proposal would be suffice but on two occasions Mr Shankland refused saying our proposal would not help matters."
Mr Titi, who runs a popular pizzeria, also claimed chopping the trees could impact the value of his property.
He added: "We feel it would be completely unfair to have us reduce the trees or worse remove them. Doing this would depreciate our house value, take away the only privacy we have left and expose us to further noise from the train line."
We feel it would be completely unfair to have us reduce the trees or worse remove them. Doing this would depreciate our house value, take away the only privacy we have left and expose us to further noise from the train line."
Yacine Titi
The Shanklands told the government the hedge impacted their property.
They said: "The high hedge between our properties creates shadows over our garden and conservatory and affects our enjoyment of our property. Due to the high hedge, light is reduced in our living room, upstairs bedroom and conservatory.
"We have had extensive correspondence with Mr and Mrs Titi and have spoken to them about the hedge, but we were unable to come to an agreement since Mr and Mrs Titi refused to reduce the height of the hedge.
The couple added: "It is five years since Mr and Mrs Titi’s hedge was trimmed. Also, their hedge is five ft from our windows, which blocks light from coming into our rooms.
"Reducing the height of the hedge was not considered by Mr and Mrs Titi, only trimming overhanging branches. We declined their offer to trim the branches since there would be no new leaf growth on our side and the bare trunks would be unsightly."
"We have had extensive correspondence with Mr and Mrs Titi and have spoken to them about the hedge, but we were unable to come to an agreement since Mr and Mrs Titi refused to reduce the height of the hedge."
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The couple added: "It is five years since Mr and Mrs Titi’s hedge was trimmed. Also, their hedge is five ft from our windows, which blocks light from coming into our rooms.
"Reducing the height of the hedge was not considered by Mr and Mrs Titi, only trimming overhanging branches.
"We declined their offer to trim the branches since there would be no new leaf growth on our side and the bare trunks would be unsightly."
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