SIR,
Last Tuesday (5th October), Raglan residents witnessed one of the worst acts of vandalism seen in the area for many a year.
The culprit? Monmouthshire County Council.
It is absolutely disgusting what was done to this charming, ornate overhanging hedge on the Usk Road in Raglan village outside Willsbrook House.
This was once a very attractive natural feature of the village, has been there for hundreds of years, and for some reason better known to Monmouthshire County Council, it has now been completely destroyed.
Simple question – why? It was not as if it was causing an obstruction, but the 'powers-that-be' for better reasons known to themselves deemed it a potential 'hazard'.
Yet again, this is sadly another instance of the 'nanny' state's destruction of rural life and invasion of our heritage.
(Name and address supplied)
•Monmouthshire County Council said it was well within its rights to cut back any greenery that is overhanging a public footpath, to its boundary line, without any notice.
Andrea Sholl, who owns the property, described the cutting back of the hedge as an "eyesore" and said the hedge would never grow back again.
"They have killed it, it is completely hacked," she said.
"We have had problems for a number of years. We told the council we would never be able to cut the hedge back to the wall and had just paid £800 to have it cut back.
"We have tried to fight it and tried to compromise but now they have gone over the boundary and people think we have done it. It is horrendous."