JIM HUME MSP BACKS EFFORT TO DEAL WITH HIGH HEDGE DISPUTES

1.19.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 2nd Oct 2009

Jim Hume, Liberal Democrat MSP for the South of Scotland, has welcomed news that the Scottish Government is looking at measures to deal with neighbour disputes caused by high hedges.

A consultation has just been launched which seeks to establish systems designed to deal with neighbour disputes.

Jim Hume said:

"I have endless complaints in my postbag from constituents across the Borders who find themselves in boundary disputes about high hedges. Hedges that are left unchecked can cause some real problems for people, whether it's damage to buildings, obscured light and vision as well as a breakdown in neighbour relations. And while the problem affects relatively few people in Scotland, its impacts can be severe.

"But the present situation is that if mediation or informal talks with your neighbour fails, then legal action seems to be the only way to address the problem which can be drawn out and costly.

"So the consultation is a way of finding a suitable way to tackle this type of neighbour dispute and I hope that anyone in the Borders who has experienced this difficulty will respond.

"Whether new measures are worked into existing anti social behaviour legislation or indeed whether new guidelines or regulations are produced, the bottom line is that there is a recognition that something has to be done to resolve what has become an unbearable problem for some people."

ENDS

1. The consultation paper can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk