7th Sept 2010
A dispute has broken out in a Plymouth street over the height of trees surrounding a property.
David Alvand, of Weston Mill, has planted about 16 Leyland cypress trees at the front of his house which stand about 35ft (10.6m) tall.
Residents in the street have complained to Plymouth City Council.
The council said it was hoping further mediation would resolve the dispute before its tree officers visited the street to see if action was necessary.
The Leyland cypress trees which Mr Alvand planted overshadow the house and road.
He told the BBC that there was "no story to tell" and that he had "nothing to say" on the matter.
In a statement, the council said it had put the complaint on hold to see if a resolution could be found without the council's involvement.
The statement continued: "If Mr Alvand and his neighbours cannot agree a way forward, then our tree officers will need to visit the property and take measurements to determine the 'action hedge height' and establish what, if any, remedial action needs to be taken."
Roger Palfrey, 71, who lives opposite Mr Alvand said: "You certainly can't see the house through the trees.
"I'm concerned, although they're quite nice to look at and it's a roost for the birds, the rootage system underneath must be phenomenal.
"It can't be doing the infrastructure underneath the roads any good."
Mr Palfrey is friends with Roger Coath who lives next door to Mr Alvand.
He said: "I know Roger [Coath] doesn't like heights and the gutters are full of needles, and he can't grow any grass or decent lawn in his front garden because the sunlight doesn't get there."
This is the second time Mr Alvand has faced a formal complaint over the use of his land.
In 2003, he lost a legal battle against a 3m (9.84ft) high wall built around his property, which neighbours dubbed the "Berlin Wall".
A jury at Plymouth Crown Court decided that Mr Alvand had failed to comply with a planning enforcement order and fined him £700 with costs of £2,500.
BBC Online reported
15th July 2010
Recession fuels rise of cowboy tree surgeons, says Health & Safety Executive
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) is responding to a rising number of complaints about rogue tree surgeons, according to field inspector Ian Whittles.
Speaking at The ARB Show, he said: "There's been more cutting of corners, though we can't easily get a handle on numbers. It can be lack of training, not using proper kit, not having a ground crew, pulling trees down with ropes, charging over the odds or just doing a bad job.
"Often workers only have a mobile number. Customers will have paid them in cash then want to know what we are going to do about it." But he urged people to report cases to local HSE offices.
According to Arboriculture Association director Nick Eden: "The industry isn't Government-regulated so anyone can buy a chainsaw and call themselves a tree surgeon - and in a recession, more people are tempted to do that. But it's bad for safety, bad for trees and bad for the committed industry members."
Horticulture Week Online 25 June 2010
