A LOCAL COUPLE have expressed their anger over a lack of communication from the council after workers from the local authority cut ivy from their wall last week without any notice given. Mary Jane Maguire and her partner David Juhasz had purposely let the ivy grow up their wall outside their house in Laurel Brook Gardens to stop their autistic daughter throwing things out on to the road.
According to Mary Jane the ivy had acted as a barrier between their wall and the road and had stopped her daughter Mary Kate throwing things on the road which she had done regularly before the ivy had grown up the wall.
“My thirteen-year old daughter is severely autistic and when she is out in the garden she has a habit of throwing things over the wall out on to the road. Myself and my partner David were concerned that she would hit a passer by with something and that is why we let the ivy grow up the wall.
The ivy acted as a barrier and it stopped Mary Kate throwing things out on to the road. Last Tuesday without any prior notice somebody from Louth County Council cut all the ivy off the wall and while doing so they damaged our trampoline and broke the top off the wall’s pillar.
Now in fairness to them they did come back the next morning to fix the pillar but when I asked why they had not consulted us before cutting down the ivy I was told to contact the complaints department. Would it be too much to put a letter in our letterbox telling us they were planning on cutting down the ivy to allow us time to find something else to put up to stop Mary Kate throwing things out on the road. Are they even allowed to cut ivy down given the fact that this is our house?
“We were very angry to come home to see the ivy cut and the damage caused by the council worker to our wall and trampoline. We would ask in future that residents be consulted if a job like this has to be done. I understand that they have to clear the footpath from ivy but did they really have to cut it all away from the top of our wall and inside our garden?,” asked Mary Jane.
When asked for a response by the Dundalk Leader, Louth County Council stated that theyhad received complaints about ivy encroaching on footpaths and had acted on those complaints to provide a clear walking space.
“Louth County Council received complaints about ivy encroaching on footpaths in The Laurels area, and outdoor crews were sent to clear same. Following requests from pedestrians using this footpath, ivy was also cut from a wall to provide clear walking space. As some of the ivy had grown under the capping of the wall, this came loose during cutting, and repairs were carried out the following morning. A council representative called to the householder and explained why the ivy was cut. No damage was caused to property and capping was made good.”
