Man who fought neighbours for 20 years over wall height now faces tree battle
A PLYMOUTH man who lost a lengthy legal wrangle over the height of his garden wall is facing a new investigation — this time over the height of trees, writes Edd Moore.
Fed-up neighbours of David Alvand have clubbed together to make a formal complaint to Plymouth City Council, saying they are angry that 16 Leyland cypress trees in Mr Alvand's front garden have grown so high, they dwarf the houses in Churchway, Weston Mill.
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Believed to have been planted shortly after he moved to the property in 1991, they now completely obscure Mr Alvand's semi-detached house.
He told The Herald he felt victimised after being "chased" for two decades over the state of his gardens.
In July 2000, Mr Alvand was hit with a council enforcement notice ordering him to lower high walls he built on both sides of his garden.
His refusal led to a string of criminal and civil hearings which cost the council more than £20,000.
When a judge threatened him with jail in January 2004, he finally lowered what was dubbed the 'Berlin Wall', ending a 12-year dispute he described as 'a personal vendetta'.
But now a fresh complaint, made under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act, has been made by a neighbour — and is being supported financially by numerous others.
The council confirmed it had launched an investigation but said it was 'on hold, in the hope both parties could come to an agreement.
If they could not, council staff would visit and decide whether action was needed.
One resident, who did not want to be named, said he had begun mediation over the trees in July 2000, without success.
"The wall took 15-16 years to sort out," he said. "It's been a nightmare. Now the trees are an eyesore — they block out sunlight and make the street look bad."
Another, elderly neighbour added: "I think they're monstrous. They've gone higher than the roof of our houses now. They look horrendous."
Mr Alvand said he did not wish to comment, other than to say he was a law-abiding citizen who had suffered 20 years of 'being chased' over his wall and trees.
A council spokesman said: "Our tree officers have contacted Mr Alvand, who indicated he would like to explore further mediation with his neighbours.
"It is good practice to put a complaint 'on hold' for a short time to see if an amicable solution can be found."
34 Comments
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by George, Plymouth
Tuesday, September 07 2010, 12:16PM
“If David Alvand wanted his privacy then his plan has backfired - he's in pretty much every national paper, and in several foreign news websites (just google "David Alvand").”
by Steve, Reading
Tuesday, September 07 2010, 11:32AM
“If it is really a case of he values his privacy so much (rather than just wanting to be an obnoxious pain to his neighbours) why doesn't he just p**s off to the middle of nowehere with no neighbours??”
by Anon-e-Muse, Just passing Churchway!
Tuesday, September 07 2010, 2:26AM
“Great idea Mick... Chainsaw in hand, jobs a gudn, in about 20 mins! Ha Ha LOL :-), I wonder if the Special Branch will have to get involved! ;-P”
by Katy, South hams
Monday, September 06 2010, 11:51PM
“I had a problem with these trees next door to me and I had to have the lights on in the sitting room in the day they shut so much light out, the council would do nothing so I phoned my house insurance company and they said what damage it would do to my home if they stayed and that my neighbour would have to pay and that their own insurance company wouldn't pay for the damage to their home either. I explained this to my neighbours and they saw ;-) sense and got rid of them !”
by ian, Plymouth
Monday, September 06 2010, 11:04PM
“That tree is absolutely ridiculous, only in england could it take such a long time to take action over something that is obviously there for no other reason than to annoy everyone else.
Ought to look at www.gardenlaw.co.uk they have some useful advice on there which might speed things along.
Personally if I was next door to this I would find out what damage it is doing to my house and sue to have it put right. I would also poison the bloomin eyesore legal or not.”
by C, Plymouth
Monday, September 06 2010, 10:41PM
“I Googled him too Mick, the trees are growing into next doors guttering and over the roof!!! Because Mr Alvand is so pig-headed it is going to cost him a lot of money if next door sues for a new roof!”
by Mick, Barbican
Monday, September 06 2010, 10:00PM
“Anna quote- "I have a Leyland Tree, they are uncontrolable. Mick, I need to get rid of mine but it's going to cost about 150 quid, would weedkiller really work?"
Well if its your tree you can get a local chap with a chainsaw to do the job decisively in 5 minutes for about £25, and he can cart it away in his truck.
PS- I've just reconnoitred that blokes house on Google Street View, and the branches are overhanging a neighbours fence by about 4 feet, I'm sure the law allows the victim to lop them.
Also the branches overhang the road, I think that's an offence under the highways act, so maybe the council and police should get involved.
One last thing- the trunks of the trees are easily accessible from the pavement, so a chainsaw vigilante could neatly chop the lot inside 2 minutes..”
by dan, devon
Monday, September 06 2010, 9:54PM
“Im going to plant a 20 foot tree to block daylight from Rob's house and lower the value of his property as he has better things to do than complain about it, so long as it's on my property though.”
by mark, Plymouth
Monday, September 06 2010, 9:25PM
“yep copper nails will do it in a much shorter time than 20yrs, thats what my neighbours tree is going to get”
by Rob, plymouth
Monday, September 06 2010, 9:07PM
“some people really nothing better to do with their time than stick their nose in to other peoples lives.
"oh, the wall is too high, lets complain."
right, now thats sorted what else can we moan about?
to be honest with you, i feel pretty sorry for this guy, get off his case and stop wasting time and money on things which he's doing on his own property. it's his house, it's his choice.
or are we going to have to start getting planning permission to plant trees soon?”