Any plant that grows to the point of encroaching or effecting a neighbour's garden detrimentally should be controlled by law. These trees cause misery to mostly retired people who spend more time in their home and garden and to whom it is their main source of enjoyment. The cold shade and damage to the soil that Leylandii cause is far more serious than is realised. You can try for years and as hard as you like to grow a beautiful garden in their shade but you won't succeed. Also with our British weather we get quite a few days of sunshine in the winter and this undoubtedly lifts our mood; imagine living in the shadow of these trees which act as a screen and behind which is the most glorious warm sunshine and it cannot reach you. This subject seems insignificant and almost ridiculous but clearly it has a major impact and that's why there is some legislation is in place. We just need to get to that one stage further where the law is clear enough to tackle the problem simply, say by local authorities acting upon cases as adjudicators and without requiring a fee. What the hell is the big deal anyway!? What is so precious about these ugly, dark green, dusty, life sapping trees? We all want privacy, no doubt about that and there are many plants that are beautiful, easy to maintain and neighbour friendly. "Evergreen" sounds such a romantic word but in the context of the English seasons, it takes on a perniciousness. It cuts out light and heat, it doesn't do that magic thing of anouncing Spring is here, it saps the soil, it gives solid, not dappled shade, it never changes - it is like a dusty old drab curtain that needs throwing away to let the sunshine in.
