Tall trees must go say angry families
Residents living in a Staffordshire estate are demanding that a row of trees should be cut down because they are blocking light into their homes.
Residents living in a Staffordshire estate are demanding that a row of trees should be cut down because they are blocking light into their homes.
Around 30 homes in Durham Drive and Bedford Way on the Upper Birches Farm estate in Rugeley are affected by a row of 50ft oaks and sycamores. Residents say the trees block light through their windows and affect their satellite television reception. One resident said she had to keep her lights on during the day throughout the summer.
Neighbours claim the problem has been going on for several years but the county council has not controlled the growth of the trees.
More than 30 residents attended a meeting in the street with county council highways representative Wayne Mortiboys and ward county councillor Ray Easton and demanded action be taken.
Barbara Coppard, who has lived in Durham Drive since 1984, said: "We have been trying to get the county council to take on the problem for the last 12 months.
"The trees are now a major problem and affect the quality of our lives. I have had to put my lights on downstairs in the summer months which is just ridiculous.
"Some residents have had problems with their satellite reception because the trees block it out. The branches overhang some houses dropping branches and leaves into gardens.
"The council has sent tree surgeons out about three times in the 25 years I've lived here but that's just not enough.
"There was a lot of anger at the meeting. The officer who met us seemed sympathetic but whether anything gets done is another issue."
Councillor Ray Easton has pledged £4,000 of his local initiative funding to tackle the issue.
He said: "It is a real problem and nothing has been done for far too long. It's like a suburban jungle down there at the moment and I will be pressing hard for answers."
Staffordshire County Council spokesman Jeremy Herbert said: "We are going to get an estimate for the job.
"The trees are a lot older than the houses, potentially hundreds of years old. They are not diseased. In fact, they are growing too well"
