A retired vicar is locked in an unholy row with a care home next door after workers cut down trees in his garden which he said were ‘like the Sycamore Gap’.
Philip Young said his privacy was ‘violated’ by ‘three men with chainsaws’ and is seeking £30,000 in compensation.
The 72-year-old said he returned to his £325,000 home after church to find workers from the Cotman House nursing home on May 6.
Mr Young said he was ‘incandescent with rage’ to find them chopping back the trees and the undergrowth.
But now – four months on – he is seeking £30,000 compensation after rejecting an initial pay out.
Cotman House said the plants were ‘mistakenly removed’ and are seeking a fair resolution.
Mr Young said: ‘It beggars belief that they came into our garden.
‘They said it was a big mistake, but it does not feel like a mistake to us.
Philip Young in his garden where his blackthorn tree used to be in Felixstowe Suffolk
Mr Young said he was ‘incandescent with rage’ to find them chopping back the trees and the undergrowth
‘It feels like we were violated and invaded, which we were.’
A 24ft high blackthorn tree and shrubs were removed in the north western corner of his property – 10 metres from the care home boundary.
Mr Young said workers from the care home had come through into his garden through a gap in the hedge – which he has now blocked with a fence.
The passionate environmentalist said his blackthorn tree had been home to blue tits, pigeons, magpies and ‘the occasional thrush’.
The National Trust member had written to the care home’s directors seeking a ‘just compensation’.
He received a visit from a property manager, who offered £3,000 to plant a replacement tree and do some landscaping and a further £3,000 for a charity of Mr Young’s choice.
But the former vicar at St Thomas’ Church in Norwich said the offer was insufficient and that his request for £30,000 highlighted the growing value that was being placed on nature.
Mr Young said: ‘I was absolutely horrified. I got the map of my boundaries and they discovered it was our garden.
The passionate environmentalist said his blackthorn tree had been home to blue tits, pigeons, magpies and ‘the occasional thrush’.
Mr Young said workers from the care home had come through into his garden through a gap in the hedge
‘I couldn’t believe they didn’t know it was our garden. They’d come through a six-foot gap in the hedge.
‘When I got home all that was left of that large Blackthorn tree was a 12-foot stump.
‘The Blackthorn tree must have been at least 50 or 60 years old.
‘For me, this was my Sycamore Gap.’
While he acknowledged his tree was not ‘in the same league’ as Sycamore Gap, he said his compensation claim reflected the value on trees in an environmentally challenged world.
Mr Young has not received an explanation from the care home for the reasons behind the work, but believed the tree had been cut to provide passers-by with a clear view of the Cotman House sign from the bottom of South Hill.
Now he says he has lost the privacy he had with both Cotman House and a neighbouring property.
Mr Young said he has had a good relationship with Cotman House and wanted to restore this fellowship as quickly as possible, seeking ‘peace with justice’.
Mr Young said he has had a good relationship with Cotman House and wanted to restore this fellowship as quickly as possible
He says he has lost the privacy he had with both Cotman House and a neighbouring property
Although the incident has been reported to the police, he was hoping to avoid having to take legal action.
He added: ‘I want it to be resolved in a loving and peaceful way that brings satisfaction to both parties.
‘It’s a shame because I loved my tree and I loved my neighbour.’
A spokesperson for Cotman House said: ‘We are truly sorry that Mr and Mrs Young’s tree was mistakenly removed as part of landscaping efforts for the wellbeing of our residents.
‘Maintaining strong relationships with our neighbours and local community is of the utmost importance to us, and we are in contact with Mr Young to find a fair resolution to this genuine mistake.’
