A woman has been ordered to take action over 100ft trees outside her home after neighbours argued they felt “imprisoned” and “depressed”.
Susan Rhodes has been locked in a bitter dispute with upstairs neighbour Ian Walker for more than five years over large conifer trees in her front garden.
Mr Walker, who has lived at the property on Blackness Road with his wife for more than three decades, argued that the trees are now restricting sunlight to his property.
He claimed one of the trees is entangled in phone wires and said high winds “see them sway alarmingly and raise issues of safety”.
Mr Walker was forced to turn to high-hedge legislation, designed to address disputes between warring neighbours, after several failed attempts to resolve the issue directly with Ms Rhodes.
He said: “My wife and I have lived in our upper storey flat for 35 years and are depressed and saddened by the deteriorating circumstances of our living conditions.
“This high hedge acts as a barrier, blocking natural light as we are acutely aware of our front rooms darkening yearly. The trees are 20-30 metres high, positioned close to the house, of considerable spread and still growing.”
Mr Walker added: “The height and closeness of these trees adds to a claustrophobic feeling of being imprisoned and takes away from being at ease in our own home.
“This loss of a sense of openness is added to by the outlook from our windows being so restricted.”
Dundee City Council agreed action needs to be taken and has issued an order for the five trees to be lopped to a maximum height of 23ft each.
The order reads: “The council has decided that the hedge in question both constitutes a high hedge for the purposes of the Act and adversely affects the enjoyment of the domestic property which an occupant of that property could reasonably expect to have.
“The council has decided that action should be taken in relation to the high hedge with a view to remedying the adverse effect and where stated, preventing its recurrence.”
However, Ms Rhodes has now challenged the local authority’s decision and submitted an official appeal to the Scottish Government, claiming that the trees do not form a barrier to light and do not affect the Walkers’ property.
A reporter will issue a decision on her appeal at a later date.
