A homeowner has defended her decision to cut down a tree and pave over her garden amid cries of outrage on social media.
Old photos of a Bradford Road property in Bolton with a luscious garden containing bushes, grass, trees and shrubs emerged on social media. A second photo, taken six years later, show the garden replaced by a paved driveway.
The new scene, a grey concrete patio, has been likened to a “petrol station without pumps”. Other social media users have called it “vandalism” and said wildlife could be harmed by the change.
She cut down the tree because it was causing damage to the house. Looking at the images, I’m pretty sure there would have been insurance implications anyway.
However, none of that is the point. Who paid for this property? Certainly not the social media prodnoses. Frankly, it is no one else’s business, but people seem to think that it is. Unless they are paying her mortgage, it isn’t and they need to learn to butt out.
“They were also complaining about the wildlife, but I live on a main road. There’s no wildlife. Just because I cut a tree down there’s been a big uproar about it. For god’s sake just leave me alone.”
Quite so, but the busybodies don’t like to leave people alone.
My personal opinion is that I like a bit of greenery, so this wouldn’t be my option as it is too bare. I’d take the opportunity to put some pots around the place to brighten it up, but that’s not my decision, it’s hers.
More like it’s the neighbours, they have now lost a property to park outside. Round our way it’s very territorial and hard to get a parking space. Put a dropped kerb in and the house owner has the guarantee of parking.
Personally like greenery, my neighbours would be glad if I cut mine down a bit. Not that any would bother to help me.
If there was an outcry about me in the “social media” I wouldn’t have an inkling. What does this homeowner do – follow the internet to find out if she is mentioned anywhere?
I expect that those responsible have made sure that she knows about it. There’s no fun in complaining if no one is listening.
Far too many people let trees get out of control. That one was ridiculous.
In my old place, we were lucky that a succession of downstairs neighbours were very diligent about regularly cutting the trees in their garden back so they didn’t obscure the windows of the flats above, but there were some along our street that were 50, 60 feet tall. (In fact, I haven’t moved far, and there’s one like that on my current street too.) I suppose when they’re that massive, they’ve been that way for a while and the people moving in don’t mind living in perpetual gloom, but they’re so close to the buildings that they must be undermining the foundations. Trees are nice, but I’d rather have a roof over my head.
Now I come to think of it, we had one in the communal back-court area of our block which had become overgrown, lifting and breaking the slabs in the nearby paved area, overshadowing the flowerbeds so nothing else would grow, dropping a truckload (almost literally) of leaves in the autumn, and generally being a nuisance. The residents’ association hired a tree-surgeon to cut it back – not remove it, just trim it back to a more sensible size – and when he came along, some nutcase who hadn’t been at the meeting told him not to lay a finger on it. The rest of us were livid. People are nuts.
The paving’s not to my taste either, but as you say: her place, her rules.
I feel the same way about people Grade II listing other people’s property.
And then telling you what colour to paint your front door.