A man who had been locked in a six-year dispute with his neighbour over trees between their homes has lost a fight to have them cut down.
Alan Armitage insisted his life was being made a misery by a hedge owned by Colin McInnes in the coastal village of Aberlady, East Lothian. He claimed it was having a 'detrimental' impact on his £500,000 house and stopped sunlight reaching his garden.
McInnes had trimmed his hedge on an annual basis but following a communication breakdown Armitage turned to East Lothian Council in a bid to have them lopped under high hedge laws. But he was left frustrated when officials said the trees did not breach guidelines because they were less than 14ft tall.
The neighbours had been in lengthy discussions since 2017 but attempts by East Lothian Council's mediation team to reach a compromise saw talks stall. Armitage appealed the ruling to the Scottish Government but the council decision has been upheld.
In one letter to McInnes, Armitage said: "Unfortunately I find myself in the position of having to write to you regarding the height of your garden trees. As previously discussed on numerous occasions, these have a detrimental effect on the sunlight that flows into our garden and the rear of our house.
"The need for this sunlight has increased significantly since the reduction of said light into our kitchen as a consequence of the building of your side extension. We have discussed this previously and I was led to believe that you agreed to have these trees trimmed each year.
"You have done this before, however, despite me sending repeated emails you have refused to do so."
In an email to his neighbour, McInnes said: "I've had a look at the trees that are on our border. I think it would be useful to me if you could highlight what your issue is with them as I cannot see why they are causing you an issue."
Rejecting his application for a high hedge notice, East Lothian Council said: "As the current height of hedges A and B are not currently 6m in height, the hedges do not cause a significant loss of sunlight of daylight, to the applicant's dwelling house, nor do they have the potential to cause significant loss of light in the not too distant future.
"It is therefore decided that this application for a high hedge notice be refused on the basis that the hedges at their current height do not affect the reasonable enjoyment of the dwelling house."
Government reporter Trevor Croft said: "I do not consider the loss of light to the rear garden to affect significantly the enjoyment of the property that its occupants could reasonably expect to have. I therefore dismiss the appeal and confirm the decision by East Lothian Council that no action should be taken in relation to the high hedge.
"I have considered all other matters raised but found none to cause me to alter my decision."
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