James Nova only left his North Ryde home in Sydney just to grab a quick bite. He never expected that when he came back, he would find his prized, healthy six-metre hedge chopped down to the ground.

And apparently, the developer working on his neighbour’s house is to blame.

Sydney resident James Nova suddenly found his hedge cut down. Credit: A Current Affair.
​

Mr Nova has already accepted that the new two-level duplex being built right next to his house will be an eyesore for years to come. Thankfully, he had his twelve-year-old hedge right in the middle of the two houses to give him a modicum of privacy.

But that all changed when he came home one afternoon to find his beloved hedge chopped down to the ground by a group of tree loppers.

When he went to confront the group of men, they responded by saying they were just ordered to cut the hedge down to the level of the fence, which is roughly about five feet.

He was left there, thinking: “Wow, someone can just come onto your property and chop down your stuff and get away with it scot-free.”

So, he contacted the developer of the building right next to his house.

Mr Nova and Mr Han have settled the misunderstanding. Credit: A Current Affair.​

Harry “Houdini” Han, the property’s developer, insisted that it was not his order to cut down the trees. Though he did order them to just “trim” the sides of the hedge.

He kept on saying that it was the tree loppers who misunderstood, and “it's got nothing to do with me”.

“It's a pretty big misunderstanding to chop a six-metre hedge down to sticks,” Mr Nova quipped back.

The workers did admit that they made a mistake, but now that the damage has been done, Mr Nova is asking for compensation for the hedge which will take several years to regrow.

“The only thing developers worry about is money so simply, I want money,” said Mr Nova, who is demanding a sum of $30,000 for compensation.

After A Current Affair became involved, it was believed that developer Mr Han and hedge-owner Mr Nova have settled the matter behind closed doors.

Yikes, this is an absolute disaster. Such a terrible thing that a massive developer can so carelessly destroy the property of another. Disgusting!

 

[Chrisalis]

Chinese developer! Enough said

 

[Ricci]

The old adage it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission seems appropriate here. I would have been so furious if this had happened to me, forgiveness would have been VERY expensive.

 

[Pat T]

Sydneysider comes home to find prized hedge CHOPPED DOWN: “What the hell?”​

James Nova only left his North Ryde home in Sydney just to grab a quick bite. He never expected that when he came back, he would find his prized, healthy six-metre hedge chopped down to the ground.

And apparently, the developer working on his neighbour’s house is to blame.

Sydney resident James Nova suddenly found his hedge cut down. Credit: A Current Affair.
​

Mr Nova has already accepted that the new two-level duplex being built right next to his house will be an eyesore for years to come. Thankfully, he had his twelve-year-old hedge right in the middle of the two houses to give him a modicum of privacy.

But that all changed when he came home one afternoon to find his beloved hedge chopped down to the ground by a group of tree loppers.

When he went to confront the group of men, they responded by saying they were just ordered to cut the hedge down to the level of the fence, which is roughly about five feet.

He was left there, thinking: “Wow, someone can just come onto your property and chop down your stuff and get away with it scot-free.”

So, he contacted the developer of the building right next to his house.

Mr Nova and Mr Han have settled the misunderstanding. Credit: A Current Affair.​

Harry “Houdini” Han, the property’s developer, insisted that it was not his order to cut down the trees. Though he did order them to just “trim” the sides of the hedge.

He kept on saying that it was the tree loppers who misunderstood, and “it's got nothing to do with me”.

“It's a pretty big misunderstanding to chop a six-metre hedge down to sticks,” Mr Nova quipped back.

The workers did admit that they made a mistake, but now that the damage has been done, Mr Nova is asking for compensation for the hedge which will take several years to regrow.

“The only thing developers worry about is money so simply, I want money,” said Mr Nova, who is demanding a sum of $30,000 for compensation.

After A Current Affair became involved, it was believed that developer Mr Han and hedge-owner Mr Nova have settled the matter behind closed doors.

Yikes, this is an absolute disaster. Such a terrible thing that a massive developer can so carelessly destroy the property of another. Disgusting!

Do know where developers , even when at fault, walk out of a court hearing and the council has to pick up the tab.

 

[Roberta]

A disgusting act of destruction. We are seeing so much of it today with developers killing perfectly healthy gum trees on a new developed block and then planting miniature plants in their place.

 

[Wenzie]

Similar thing happened to us. We went out for an hour or so and when we returned we discovered the new next door neighbour had knocked down our quite low dividing fence and started replacing it with a glass fence so he could get a better view of the ocean. There was no consultation beforehand. We had a few choices; paint the glass on our side, place plants on our side of the fence, which we tried but the shrubs started disappearing, or place a fence of our choosing on our side of the glass fence. We've since moved as we were in the process of selling the house, and the new owners have placed a 6 foot high fence on their own side of the boundary.