A COUPLE have been locked in a six-year battle with their neighbour over a monster tree, nicknamed King Conifer.
The 30-foot cypress – the height of two stacked double-decker buses – blots out the sun for grandad Keith Smith and wife Julie as it looms over their home in Edinburgh, Scotland.
(c) Dave JohnstonKeith Smith, 71, has been in a six-year battle with his neighbours over the tree[/caption]
(c) Dave JohnstonKeith with a pole measuring 3.2m, the height he says the tree should have been trimmed to[/caption]
(c) Dave JohnstonAn aerial shot showing the tree that blots out the light into Keith’s home[/caption]
But David and Niena Hunter’s green Goliath is still growing – and has been argued over from the town hall to the highest court in the land.
Meanwhile, police have been called out to referee the row between the ex-pals as it spiralled into allegations of vile abuse and fisticuffs.
An end to the aggro may finally be in sight after councillors voted to give the giant conifer the chop.
But the axe may take months to fall yet – meaning another ruined summer for the Smiths.
Retired community worker Keith, 71, told The Sun: “The whole thing is so absurd and ridiculous.
“All we want is daylight into our house and garden so we can enjoy it as we grow older – and for the family to come round for barbecues.
“But it’s put a strain on our health and well-being. I find myself being quite short-tempered about things these days, which Julie has noticed too.
“It looms over everything that we do. All we want is to live a normal life.”
Keith and ex-social worker Julie, 67, have lived in the same house in a well-heeled suburb of Scotland’s capital for more than 40 years.
Over the back fence are the Hunters who, when they moved in 25 years ago, planted tiny conifers that shot up in height as time went by.
When the trees became a hedge that began bursting up and over the boundary, the Smiths asked the Hunters to give it a trim.
In 2019, they applied for a High Hedge Notice from the local council to force their neighbours’ hand.
The Smiths’ bid was knocked back – but they appealed to the Scottish Government and won their case in 2021.
As the stakes built, the Hunters tried to challenge the decision in Scotland’s supreme civil court, the Court of Session.
However, their action was thrown out by judge Lord Arthurson in 2022.
The Hunters eventually obeyed the order in 2023 and lowered the row of conifers to 2.6 metres (8.5 feet) in height, which Keith checks on with his own homemade measuring stick.
But they left the giant tree still standing as they claimed it wasn’t part of the hedge.
Officials wrongly signed off on it, but last month an Edinburgh City Council planning committee decided the monster must be cut down to size too.
While all the bureaucracy played out, the couples’ relationship disintegrated.
ALLEGED ALTERCATION
Mr Hunter has been charged with threatening or abusive behaviour towards a child visiting the Smiths.
Both sides have claimed they feel intimidated by the other.
Keith said: “We have to walk past the neighbours’ house every day and we do it with a degree of trepidation.
“The police recommended we go for mediation, but that was turned down by the neighbours.
“We’d just like to see a hedge cut to the proper size and for us to be able to sit in our garden and have fun without someone making remarks over the fence.”
The Hunters – businessman David, 62, and 58-year-old Niena – were unavailable for comment.
But they have previously told Edinburgh Live: “We have complied with the High Hedge Notice and this was signed off by the council in April 2023.
“We are wanting to enjoy a peaceful retirement but since April 2023 we have been harassed and intimidated by Mr and Mrs Smith. This has been reported to the relevant authorities.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “A 61-year-old man has been charged in connection with threatening or abusive behaviour towards a child in the Priestfield Gardens area of Edinburgh on 30 April, 2024.
“A report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”
An Edinburgh City Council spokesman said: “We are in the process of preparing the revised High Hedge Notice as per the committee’s decision.
“Once the notice is issued, the trimming of the tree will be dependent on whether the notice is appealed and then on the outcome of any appeal.”
(c) Dave JohnstonThe tree has been nicknamed King Conifer[/caption]
(c) Dave JohnstonCouncillors have finally voted to have the tree chopped – but this could take months[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
