Leylandii Menace Now Against The Law

11.53.54am GMT Mon 15th Mar 2004

Residents, worried about rapidly growing Leylandii trees which are causing a major nuisance by shutting out neighbours light and destroying amenity, now have a legal remedy. Under the new Anti Social Behaviour Act, trees can be dealt with as an aspect of anti social behaviour rather than, as now, through private legal proceedings.

MP Vincent Cable said that he was one of the MPs who had supported the last minute addition of the clause to the Bill and hoped it would expedite the resolution of "some poisonous neighbour disputes. Some of my worst cases involve intractable disputes over rapidly growing trees which destroy one neighbour's amenity and which the owner will not deal with. Now there is a remedy. A solicitor acting for someone suffering from this problem can raise an action in court with a reasonable hope of getting a result. The threat of such action will also hopefully encourage more considerate behaviour".