A furious Aberdeen homeowner has hit out at a local estate after a massive tree came crashing through her garden – leaving her with a £1,000 clean-up bill.
The dead elm, owned by Culter Estate – which measures in at around 8ft tall and 20ft long – tumbled into Fiona Bochel’s garden during Friday night’s wild weather, landing just feet from her family home.
The Craigton Crescent resident said she had been quoted around £1,000 by a tree surgeon to clear up the mess.
However, she was stunned to learn that lawyers representing the estate would be unwilling to foot the bill.
In an e-mail seen by the Press and Journal, Kirstin Ejsmont, of MacKinnons Solicitors, told Mrs Bochel: “I note that you have a tree surgeon attending at your home this afternoon, please feel free to deal with this in a way that is most convenient to you.
“As there are very limited funds available to Culter Estate, I trust that this shall be at no cost to the estate.
“… I indicated that you should feel free to have the trees trimmed as you wish, however there would be no cost attributed to Culter Estate.
“This is still the case for any additional trees that would you like trimmed/ removed.”
Mrs Bochel said it was “astonishing” that the estate would not be paying for the removal.
She has also demanded it removes the offending tree and any others that might topple in high winds.
She said: “I just found it astonishing that they own the tree but won’t pay for it to be removed.
“We were very lucky it didn’t smash any windows or, God forbid, hit the nursery next door.”
The trees have been a long running issue in the lower Deeside community, and were originally believed to be owned by the city council.
But earlier this year it was established that the estate owned the trees and were responsible for their upkeep.
The estate – which now exists for a few remaining trustees – is registered as a private limited company, with Charles Marshall Scott listed as the only employee.
Last night, Mr Scott said he would advise that any damages are paid when contacted by the P&J.