Saturday May 16th 2020
Ancrum House in Ancrum Bank, Eskbank
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
A homeowner who successfully won an order forcing a neighbour to cut down a 19-metre high hedge has lodged further action after being left unhappy with the result.
The Eskbank resident complained to Midlothian Council in 2017 about her neighbour’s hedge, which was made of Leylandii bushes and beech trees and shut out evening sun from her garden.
In January 2018 the local authority issued a high hedge notice to the homeowner who lives at Ancrum House, on Ancrum Bank, in the town, to either reduce the entire hedge to 5 metres and maintain it at 6 metres or lower or remove or cut the 19-metre high beech trees to 2.5metres.
The complainant alleged no action was carried out until another neighbour applied for a new high hedge order and the property owner carried out work but still not to the standard required.
Appealing against Midlothian Council’s subsequent decision to withdraw the enforcement notice, the resident tells Scottish Ministers that her neighbour: “reduced the Leylandii to 2 or 3 metre high ugly stumps,” adding, “the beech trees have been reduced in the past but not down to 5 metres so he has still not fulfilled his requirement.”
Midlothian Council wrote to the complainer last month to say it has inspected the site and feels no further work is required and the order has been withdrawn.
However the case has now been appealed and will be investigated by the Scottish Reporter.
Calling for an appeal the complainer said: ”It seems unreasonable that the High Hedge Notice should be withdrawn before the hedge owner has fully complied with its requirements.
“It also seems unreasonable that the hedge owner should be rewarded for his delay and I (and my neighbour in No 10) should lose the protection against future shading which the notice should provide.”
Calls for a response from the notice recipient and council have been made by the Scottish Reporter.
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