Pensioner, 90, loses eight-year battle to force neighbour to chop down the 20ft Leylandii that's blocking out the sunlight into his house
- Eric Merry was fighting with Peter and Trish Fryer about the height of their trees
- He claimed 20ft leylandiis blocked sunlight into his home and ruined his home
- The Kirkcudbrightshire neighbours exchanged angry letters and got the CAB in
- A government reporter ruled the trees did not 'adversely affect his enjoyment'
A 90-year-old man has lost an eight-year battle to have his neighbours' trees blocked out to allow sunlight back into his garden.
The lengthy argument between pensioner Eric Merry, and Peter and Trish Fryer, saw angry letters exchanged and mediation involving the Citizens Advice Bureau fail to resolve the row.
Mr Merry claimed the 20ft leylandii trees blocked sunlight into his home, ruined his use of his garden, and prevented him enjoying views of the countryside around St Johns Town of Dalry, Kirkcudbrightshire.
Eric Merry has lost his battle to have the Leylandii trees (pictured out of the right-hand window) chopped down
Mr Merry claimed the trees (to the left of the path) blocked sunlight into his home, ruined his use of his garden, and prevented him enjoying views of the countryside
An exchange of letters in 2009 saw him cite cases of 'hedge rage' and reference an incident where a person was killed when a hedge dispute ended in violence.
He also warned the Fryers their dense undergrowth could leave them vulnerable to robbery and substantial legal costs.
The Fryers rejected the claims, saying: 'We find the 'information' in your letter to be not only unwelcome but could be interpreted as 'threatening'.
'If your letter had been sent to an elderly person living on their own it is likely to have caused considerable distress. Our hedges are not close to the property and therefore the cottage could not be considered to be vulnerable to burglary.'
They added: 'We find your reference to 'court cases' and 'the hedge owner having to pay costs which amounted to £120,000' to be provocative in the extreme and inappropriate.
'We take great care of our garden at significant expense and we find your remarks to be highly offensive.'
Mr Merry turned to high hedge laws in the summer in a bid to force the Fryers to take action but Dumfries and Galloway Council decided against issuing any enforcement.
He also warned the Fryers their dense undergrowth could leave them vulnerable to robbery and substantial legal costs
An exchange of letters in 2009 saw him cite cases of 'hedge rage' and reference an incident where a person was killed when a hedge dispute ended in violence
He then approached the Scottish Government in a last ditch bid to win the day but a reporter has now backed the Fryers.
Mr Merry told council officials: 'Light is restricted within the living room giving a gloomy appearance and is generally only used in the evenings.
'The outlook is also depressing.'
The Fryers wrote to the council outlining their opposition to making changes in their garden and pointed out it sits more than 25ft away from Mr Merry's property.
They added: 'Mr Merry has never approached us to discuss the hedges. He has communicated via letter, through intermediaries and finally a mediation meeting.
'We were only made aware of his concerns when we were forwarded his letter of the 22nd September 2009 whilst we were working abroad.
'We were contacted by the Citizens Advice Bureau and we attended a meeting with them to discuss the issue. '
Mr Merry blamed the trees (to the right of the path) for restricting the lighting within the living room, giving a gloomy appearance
The Fryers said they regularly had work carried out on their property including having hedges trimmed this summer
The Fryers said they regularly had work carried out on their property including having hedges trimmed this summer.
Government reporter Steve Field concluded: 'The appellant has stated that the outlook from his house is depressing.
'I was able to observe at my site inspection that the hedge partially obscures distant views to the north-west from the appellant's dining room and garden but my site inspection showed that more open, long views are available looking due west from the house.
'A narrow view to fields in the middle-distance can also be seen looking north.
'In general terms, I consider that living within a village, in this case looking out over the residential properties, it is not reasonable to expect panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, especially over property not controlled by the householder.
'I conclude that the hedge does not adversely affect the reasonable enjoyment of the domestic property.'
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