Gullane garden dispute: neighbour ordered to trim hedge

The Gullane residents were unable to agree over how much to chop off the four-metre-tall Leylandii which spans the back of their gardens.

One homeowner, who lives on Muirfield Park, had asked East Lothian Council to issue a High Hedge Notice on his neighbour, living on The Hawthorns, after claiming that repeated requests to cut down the hedge were ignored.

But while the council this week agreed to issue the notice, requiring the owner to maintain the hedge, the local authority introduced a maximum height of 4.34 metres.

And they said recent visits to measure the hedge - which is 18 metres long - confirmed that its current height was between 4.37 and 4.5 metres, meaning parts would only need a 3cm trim to meet the new regulations.

In a report to the council, planning officers said that while the applicant argued that the hedge blocked out sunlight to his home, the owner of the hedge had said it was required to give them privacy from a first-floor balcony built on the neighbouring property seven years ago.

Planning officers confirmed that the balcony and the French doors were granted permission because of the “high boundary vegetation” which provided the family at The Hawthorns with privacy from an otherwise overlooking balcony.

Their report said: “Accordingly, a balance is therefore required to be struck to enable the occupants of The Hawthorns to retain their privacy, whilst allowing the occupants of Muirfield Park to enjoy their residential property and associated curtilage.

“The height in which the hedge is required to be maintained will reflect this.”

The notice set the maximum height at 4.34 metres and instructed the owners to ensure it is no higher and kept at that height in future.