July 8, 2002

Dear Sir,

Perhaps you can help us by allowing us to express our anger and devastation at the decimation of our hedge on the northern boundary of our property in Hamilton.

This morning an employee of the Corporation of Hamilton violated our property without even doing us the courtesy of allowing our own gardener to do the job.

What was once an utterly beautiful hibiscus hedge in full flower has been "pruned" or rather stumped back to well over the inside of our wall.

The fencing into which the branches had grown has been pulled out along the entire length of the garden rendering it useless.

What right do these workers have to do this to wonderful shade-giving vegetation?

And for what purpose?

This beautiful hedge overhung a piece of property which is railed off to the public, and is nowhere near the road.

This tall hedge provided total cover and privacy for the upper garden, which forms part of two hospital employees' residential amenity.

What right does the Corporation of Hamilton crew have to violate their privacy, shade and peaceful, beautiful garden?

Why couldn't someone knock at the door and discuss their plan?

Heavens, there is someone here 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

When spoken to with courtesy but concern, all the Corporation of Hamilton employee was worried about, was whether or not he had received the nationally mandatory greeting of "Good Morning!"

All around Bermuda, beautiful vegetation is being "stumped", with the same old argument: "If we cut it back like this, then it means that we do not have to come back so often".

Well, between the Department of Works and Engineering and the Corporation of Hamilton Bermuda's beauty is being devastated.

The roads are becoming dry, hot and shadeless.

Birds are competing for ever- dwindling protective perching space, and our once beautiful roads are being converted to hot, dusty speedways.

In our case, as we have said, this hedge did not even overhang a pavement or roadway.

What right do they have?

It took ten years to grow that hedge. We are happy to provide photos of the butchery.

ALL EMPLOYEES AND THE OWNERS OF THE HANOVER VETERINARY HOSPITAL

Hamilton

Pruning in perspective

July 10, 2002

The following letter was sent to Dr. M. Ware at Hannover Veterinary Hospital and copied to The Royal Gazette.

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your letter of July 9, complaining about the "destruction" of the hedge on your northern boundary.

I note that you chose to copy your letter to the Editor of The Royal Gazette.

Presumably, you will not mind me sending a copy of this reply to the Editor.

In your letter you make references to the "destruction", "decimation" and "butchery" of your hedge so I think it would be useful to put your allegations in perspective.

The hedge in question was overhanging a piece of Corporation property that has been an eyesore for many years.

It was being used, along with the property to the east of yours, for depositing derelict vehicles which were often used by the homeless.

It was regularly littered with a wide assortment of trash ranging from bottles and cans to broken down refrigerators, which were simply dumped at the roadside.

It was disgrace to the neighbourhood and the Corporation decided that the area was in need of a major facelift and improvements.

As you are aware, we are in the process of completing what we believe will be a very attractive park to the east of your property which is being planted with a variety of trees and shrubs, a meandering pathway lined with red brick, and old fashioned street lamps.

One of our problems has been stopping vehicles from being abandoned and dumped through the park area and along the grass verge along the northern side of your property, hence the fence you referred to in your letter.

It is our intention to keep the grass verge clean and mowed, but there was still some trash under the overhanging hedge on the Corporation's side of the property which was cut back by our workers on Monday as far as the boundary wall.

I think it would be fair to say that our workers did not enter your property nor did they cut anything off the top of the hedge or anything on the inside of your property.

They claim to have cut only those branches that were overhanging the Corporation's property.

It is surely an exaggeration to claim that our workers removed the last branch of your hibiscus hedge.

I understand that following your confrontation with our workers, our Parks superintendent, Mr. Steven De Silva, came to the scene and spoke with you.

He gave you an assurance that in future he will liaise with you when the hedge needs cutting.

He also felt that within a short period the hedge on the Corporation side will completely fill in and give you excellent cover from the road, particularly if it is regularly trimmed.

You mention in your letter that you want to avoid the "usual vilification" (your words) against you, and you then appear to be justifying whatever you may have said to our workers by pointing out that you are a Bermudian, with all of the rights and protection this society must afford you.

One might conclude from your letter that you are actually vilifying our Corporation workers, and that you later do likewise when you write about the "irresponsible, cavalier, and disrespectful attitude towards other peoples' property, also to be found in the corresponding Works and Engineering crews". (Your words not mine.)

Works and Engineering crews are no doubt faced with very similar problems, but even more so, with regard to hedges overhanging public roads and property.

Many, many, property owners allow their hedges to grow dangerously into roads (I could quote numerous examples) and are then most upset when Works and Engineering crews cut them back to the edge of the roadside and they look rather unsightly until they grow back in.

The solution in most cases is for property owners to regularly trim their hedges if they overhang roads or other people's property.

It would certainly be appreciated if you could treat our workers with exactly the same degree of respect that you expect as a Bermudian with all of the rights and protection this society affords to all of us.

Having spoken with our workers it is does appear that their version of events does not coincide with your description that you treated them with your "usual care and concern"!

Far from it, particularly when you approached and confronted all three workers in the park shortly after your initial approach to the person cutting the hedge.

Be that as it may, please be assured that, as promised by our Parks superintendent, Mr. De Silva, the Corporation will consult with you in future if your hedge again gets to the point that it is severely overhanging our property and needs trimming.

We believe that the changes made by the Corporation in the vicinity of your property will be viewed as a much needed improvement to the area, and will enable our new park to be enjoyed by everyone who lives in or visits the north-east corner of the City of Hamilton.

The park will be officially opened shortly and we will invite the public to go and see for themselves what has been achieved in improving an area that, as I stated at the beginning of this letter, had been an eyesore for many years.

Roger J. Sherratt

Secretary

Corporation of Hamilton

Hamilton