A couple who have been embroiled in a long-running battle over a huge hedge overlooking their garden say they’ve suffered ‘five years of misery and five years without sunshine’ as a result.
Keith Smith, 71, and his wife Julie, 68, told MailOnline that the matter has been a ‘thorn in their side’ that has taken a massive toll on their mental health.
The couple have lived in their detached house, in the Prestonfield area of Edinburgh, for more than four decades.
However, they say things changed after their neighbours moved in and planted cypress trees that grew several metres high.
Mr Smith said the trees created a ‘green wall’ that went all the way along a fence dividing their gardens, preventing sunlight from getting into both the Smiths’s garden and through the windows of their home – in what he brands a ‘huge intrusion’ and not suitable for adjoining gardens.
This prompted an official row with the owners of the cypress trees, David Hunter and Niena Hunter Mistry, that has rumbled on for five years and seen the gardens inspected several times by various officials.
Keith Smith (left) and his wife Julie (right) told MailOnline that the matter has been a ‘thorn in their side’ that has taken a massive toll on their mental health
Mr Smith said the trees (circled) have created a ‘green wall’ that went all the way along a fence dividing their gardens, preventing sunlight from getting into both the Smiths’s garden and through the windows of their home
Mr Smith has branded the tree (above) a ‘huge intrusion’ and not suitable for adjoining gardens
Police have also attended over disputes between the neighbours.
Edinburgh City Council initially knocked back the Smiths’s bid to have the trees chopped down, but the couple later successfully appealed to the Scottish Government, which said the cypresses had to be cut down to 8.5 feet.
The Hunters asked for one tree to be kept as it is, but that has also been ordered to be cut back to 8.5ft – and the Smiths say they are looking forward to this happening later this year.
According to Edinburgh City Council’s website, a hedge must be over 6.6ft from ground level before being considered a ‘high hedge’ potentially having a negative effect on people living nearby.
The couple later successfully appealed to the Scottish Government, which said the cypresses (as seen above) had to be cut down to 8.5 feet
The row with the owners of the cypress trees (above), David Hunter and Niena Hunter Mistry, has rumbled on for five years and seen the gardens inspected several times by various officials
Mr Smith, previously an employee of the local authority for 38 years, has now said that while the couple are hopeful the matter is dealt with, it has been ‘a thorn in their side’ and has caused them considerable stress and inconvenience, with many ‘false dawns’ along the way.
In a document to the government, the couple previously said: ‘The cost to the public purse must be considerable in terms of government, council and police resources.
‘We, the Smiths, have suffered hugely financially, emotionally and physically by this process and sincerely hope, this will now lead to resolution.’
The Hunters were unavailable for comment.
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