Plea to chop back Leylandii menace

People living on St Thomas’s Close in Blackpool say a row of Leylandii shrubs has grown so high they are blocking the light from their gardens.

Meanwhile foliage falling from the branches has made an alleyway below dangerously slippery.

The trees are planted in the garden of a neighbouring property on Steeton Road, Grange Park, which is managed by Muir Group Housing Association.

Kathleen Barker, a director of the Bishopsgate Management Company which looks after the St Thomas’s Close properties, said they had been asking for something to be done since last October.

She said; “Up to five houses are affected and the residents are getting really fed up.

“We have been complaining to Muir Housing since last October and they are using delaying tactics all the time.

“The Leylandii are taking away all the light.

“It also makes the alleyway slippery because it never dries out.

“We know it is expensive but this work needs doing.”

Residents Pauline and Ian Andrew say the trees have grown to roof height.

Pauline said: “When we moved here 14 years ago the trees were just above the boundary fence.

“Seven years ago they were chopped back, but since then they’ve just grown and grown and now they’ve grown to the roof line.

“The trees block the sun and in the winter it’s so dark and dismal, and nothing grows.

“It’s miserable because out of our kitchen window all we can see is these trees.

“Ours is not a big garden, but we have a greenhouse which needs some light.

“The service alley at the back is always slimy because it is right underneath the Leylandii and never dries out.

“Muir keeps telling us the money has been allocated for the work to be done, and then nothing happens.

“The trees need to be cut back and then they should be maintained at a reasonable height.”

A spokesman for Muir Group Housing Association said the trees would be chopped back.

He said: “Muir can confirm that a date has been agreed for this work to be undertaken, and has advised residents accordingly.”