What’s the opposite of a Nosy Neighbour?
Posted on September 8th, 2010
Pic from Plymouth Herald
Whatever it is, this guy is it. This guy being 66-year-old civil engineer, David Alvand, who has such an extreme interpretation of his right to privacy that he has grown himself a rather overpowering shrubbery. His beloved conifers, 10 metre high Leylandii, fill his entire front garden and block out the entire frontage of his property from any prying eyes.
image from Guardian via SWNS / SWNS.com
According to the Mirror, the homemade jungle became so impenetrable, that the postman refused to deliver letters, presumably because a perang machete is not standard Royal Mail issue.
Poor old Mr Alvand doesn’t seem to appreciate that this is a classic case of situational irony, and by growing his trees to the extent that they are overhanging his neighbours roof, as well as the street, he has in fact only served to draw more attention to himself. He certainly wouldn’t have made the Guardian if he had just kept his curtains drawn. A quick scan of Google Maps and it’s easy to see why the neighbours are up in arms (Top privacy tip, by the way — If you don’t want your home to be easily identifiable from space, don’t grow the world’s biggest hedge in your front garden).
And streetview shows what the situation looks like from the ground – it certainly has an oppressive feel about it.
This isn’t the first time he’s annoyed the neighbours either, he reportedly only took down a 3.5 metre concrete fence (he called it a greenhouse) after 10 years of legal battles at the point the council applied to have him jailed while their own workmen dismantled it.
Neighbours concerns are cited by the papers as bieng blocked out sunlight and the eyesore these overgrown potplants cause. If I were the next door neighbour, though, I would be checking my subsidence insurance cover, as all of those trees are getting their water from somewhere, and unless they are removed very carefully, there could well be implications for the structures. You would think that Mr Alvand would be aware of these issues, being a civil engineer, but given that he thinks you make greenhouses out of concrete, perhaps not.
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