Neighbours in 17-year row over conifers at Cannock house

Former miner Ken Elliott wants conifers reaching 25 to 30ft high in his neighbour's Cannock garden to be cut down to an acceptable height.

But the next-door family say they like their front garden the way it is. Tristan Wooley, who lives there with his father Dale, says: "It's like having your own private forest."

The matter has been raised again following Cannock Chase Council's prosecution last week of Ken Mould whose Rugeley home is covered in ivy and obscured at the front by trees.

Mr Elliott, aged 55, said: "It's an eyesore. We cut it on our side but there's only so far we can reach. They did cut the laurel at the front when we complained, as we couldn't see up the road, but it's grown back again.

"We don't open our front curtains anymore because then we haven't got to face it."

He moved into the property in Huntington Terrace Road, Chadsmoor, with his family in 1979, about six years before the Wooleys moved in nextdoor.

In 1996, the Elliotts asked their neighbours if they could uproot a dividing hedge and build a wall to separate the two properties, which they did.

Mr Elliott paid for a contractor to remove the hedge and offered to buy the Wooleys some mini-conifers by way of reimbursement, an offer that was turned down.

However, some months later the Elliotts noticed that conifers had been planted in their neighbours' garden and it soon became apparent that they were not miniatures.

They wrote to the Wooleys in 2005 when the High Hedges Act came in and again in 2011 when it appeared the roots of one of next-door's trees had caused a crack in the wall.

Today Tristan Wooley disputed that their trees blocked out their neighbours' light. "Our houses face south and as the sun rises in the west, the trees don't affect their light."

Asked about the proximity of the trees to their own home, he added: "I quite like it. When I come outside to have a cigarette, it's like being in your own private forest. The birds love it."

The High Hedges Act gave people whose gardens are overshadowed the opportunity to resolve the problem with the help of the local council.

A high hedge under the law is defined as more than 2m (approx 6.5ft) tall while a hedge is described as a line of two or more trees or shrubs.

For the purpose of complaints it must be formed wholly or predominantly of evergreens, as these do not lose their leaves in winter, or semi-evergreens, that stay green most of the year.

The legislation is designed so that the general public is able to use it without the need to involve lawyers.

However Mr Elliott has spent around £100 on legal advice in the matter.

"Someone needs to step in as I can't afford to keep paying for lawyers or for gardening work, which I shouldn't have to have done," he said.

John Heminsley, planning projects officer for Cannock Chase Council, said Mr Elliott was advised on a previous occasion that there was a specific procedure to follow under High Hedges legislation which involved initially trying to negotiate a solution with his neighbour.

If this failed he could make a formal complaint to the council asking for officers to investigate. Mr Heminsley said: "A fee is payable to the council for us to carry out this process. Mr Elliott chose not to pursue this matter and the council have had no further contact from him about this point."

Ken Mould was fined £1,000 by Stafford magistrates and ordered to remove all foliage from his home in Swallow Drive, Rugeley.

Residents were relieved at Cannock Chase District Council's intervention but are not holding their breath that 60-year-old Mr Mould, who lives in the house with his partner, will comply.

The building, including the roof and first-floor windows, is totally hidden under a thick covering of ivy while the front garden is dominated by several large coniferous trees.