A pizzeria boss who had been locked in a battle with his neighbours over massive trees has been ordered to cut them down.
Yacine Titi, 42, has been told to lop Leylandii trees which his neighbours, Stewart and Linda Shankland, said left their property in darkness and made their lives a misery.
The Shanklands complained to council bosses after Mr Titi said he would not cut down the trees they said towered over their property at 33ft.
The view that Stewart and Linda Shankland have from their property due to the large trees
Yacine Titi (pictured) said the trees are popular in the upmarket village of Thorntonhall, Lanarkshire, and claimed they provide a barrier between his £500,000 house and a railway line
An aerial view of the properties (above) which shows where they are placed relative to the train track
Mr Titi said the trees are popular in the upmarket village of Thorntonhall, Lanarkshire, and claimed they provide a barrier between his £500,000 house and a railway line.
The Shanklands used high hedge legislation to force Mr Titi to take action after mediation failed and the council approved their request and ordered a section be removed and others cut down to 12ft.
Mr Titi appealed to the Scottish Government in a bid to stop the axe falling but officials have now backed the council and ordered them to be lopped.
But the 42-year-old won a partial reprieve after a government reporter – who considers planning appeals – set a maximum height of 15ft for sections of the hedge.
Mr Titi had earlier told how attempts at settling the dispute had failed.
He said: ‘We have been extremely forthcoming in reaching a conclusion to this matter from the onset. We agree the trees are unruly (which generally those type of trees are).
‘The trees discussed have been there since we moved into the property in 2013 and are very mature. These trees are very popular in Thorntonhall and most in the neighbouring area are of the same height.
Mr Titi appealed to the Scottish Government in a bid to stop the axe falling but officials have now backed the council and ordered them to be lopped. But Mr Titi won a partial reprieve after a reporter set a maximum height of 15ft for sections of the hedge
Stewart and Linda Shankland, said the trees left their property in darkness and made their lives a misery
‘On two occasions we have approached Mr Shankland to have him give us a convenient time and date for our tree surgeons to reduce the height of the trees and thin them down in order to give Mr Shankland more light into his home.
‘We thought this proposal would be suffice but on two occasions Mr Shankland refused saying our proposal would not help matters.’
Mr Titi, who runs a popular pizzeria, also claimed chopping the trees could impact the value of his property.
He added: ‘We feel it would be completely unfair to have us reduce the trees or worse remove them. Doing this would depreciate our house value, take away the only privacy we have left and expose us to further noise from the train line.’
The Shanklands told the government the hedge impacted their property.
They said: ‘The high hedge between our properties creates shadows over our garden and conservatory and affects our enjoyment of our property. Due to the high hedge, light is reduced in our living room, upstairs bedroom and conservatory.
‘We have had extensive correspondence with Mr and Mrs Titi and have spoken to them about the hedge, but we were unable to come to an agreement since Mr and Mrs Titi refused to reduce the height of the hedge.
‘They suggested only trimming overhanging branches next to our house. After mediation from South Lanarkshire Council, we were again no further forward.’
The couple added: ‘It is five years since Mr and Mrs Titi’s hedge was trimmed. Also, their hedge is five ft from our windows, which blocks light from coming into our rooms.
‘Reducing the height of the hedge was not considered by Mr and Mrs Titi, only trimming overhanging branches. We declined their offer to trim the branches since there would be no new leaf growth on our side and the bare trunks would be unsightly.’
Government reporter Lorna McCallum issued an order for the trees to be kept at a new height.
She added: ‘I consider that the hedge only adversely affects the amount of sunlight and daylight to a small proportion of the total dwellinghouse and garden.
‘However, I find the impact of the hedge on the sun room and upper gable bedroom window to be sufficiently adverse to conclude that it affects the reasonable enjoyment of this property.
‘I am consequently satisfied that a high hedge notice is warranted.’
The work has to be completed by September.