- Mark and Clare Dyer, both 59, have been ordered to trim their 26ft leylandii wall
- The couple, from Surrey, have been locked in planning disputes for decades
A millionaire property developer who lost a row with neighbours over his giant 26ft leylandii hedge has been accused of turning his home into ‘Disneyland’ with its over the top lighting.
Mark Dyer and his wife Clare, both 59, were dubbed the ‘neighbours from hell’ in a three-year row over the hedge, with local GP Andrew Cross who said it ‘blotted out sunlight’ and which finally ended in defeat for them at the High Court yesterday.
Summarising the case, Judge Dexter Dias KC said: ‘While it is said that an English person’s home is their castle, here it’s become in some ways a battlefield.’
Now, astonishing night time pictures taken by MailOnline show the Dyers’ family home, tucked away in a Surrey hamlet adorned with dozens of lights blazing, leaving locals comparing it to Disneyland.
While other houses along the quiet lane have a more modest appearance, the Dyers’ home has a surreal amber glow with lights in trees, on the main residence, across the chimney and steps leading to an outbuilding.
From the sky the stark contrast with other houses in the area is clearly visible, with the house standing out markedly from the other properties with its intense illumination.
One row of lights along the drive is similar to an airport runway and one local has compared it to Cape Canaveral – the US space rocket launch site.
Last summer neighbour David Small, 82, defeated the Dyers’ in another High Court case after they wrongly accused him and others of being ‘menacing pensioners’.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Mr Small, a retired Bank of England executive, said: ‘This guy has made so many enemies – the house is like Fort Knox, there are cameras everywhere, razor wire and off course the leylandii hedge.
‘And you should see the place at night, it’s lit up like Disneyland, there are lights everywhere and its completely over the top with the rest of the hamlet, it’s unnecessary and they blaze well into the night. It looks like something out of a Bond movie.
‘This ghastly Dyer man has been tormenting us for 20 years and he tried to take myself on as well and a couple of the others in the hamlet, but he lost.
‘When they moved in, they were perfectly agreeable, I had retired from the bank and was making kitchens and I made one for them.
‘Afterwards I remember Clare saying, “Whatever you do, don’t make an enemy of Mark because he will come after you legally,” I didn’t think anything of it at the time but now I know.
‘We even invited them to a party at our house when they first moved in and initially it was fine.
‘But then all the planning applications started to go in, and it became a nightmare for people on the lane.
‘There were all night parties until 5am and then helicopters coming and going at all times and some of them flew really low over our house, which is 400 years old, and the windows and chimney were damaged.’
Mr Small added: ‘Eventually I went up to him and said, “Look, this can’t go on, you’ve only been here a short while, but this isn’t on”.
‘Then 48 hours later we got a legal letter saying I had been abusive to him and his wife and if it happened again, he would get a High Court injunction.
‘But this is the way he works, if he falls out with anyone, he just gets lawyers involved and it seems so wrong.’
Mr Small added: ‘It must be terribly embarrassing for them because they live here, and no one will have anything to do with them and they just don’t mix at all.’
In the summer the Dyers claimed their lives had been ‘blighted’ by the actions of Mr Small, his wife Susan, 80, local GP David Cross, 63, and charity trustee Patricia Webb, 77.
But the four dismissed the claims as groundless and insisted that any objections they made to Guildford Council on planning applications were ‘genuinely felt’ and motivated by a wish to safeguard an ‘area of outstanding natural beauty’.
The Dyers were seeking £1.3million in damages plus an injunction barring all acts of future harassment towards plans for their property which has a pool, tennis court and tables.
But in July, Judge Dias handed victory to Mr Small and the others, refusing the Dyers an injunction, and saying: ‘Village life in England is one of the glories of this country, but a different side of its underbelly is on view in this case.’
Mr Small added: ‘There must have been 50 applications from them since they moved in and we used to have a lovely view over field at the back of his house but then he put up a huge hedge and we felt blocked in.
‘The view was spoilt, and we just don’t understand why he did it, I haven’t actually seen him for more than 20 years although I occasionally see Clare walking the dogs.
‘But the last time I saw her she claimed I shouted abuse her which was untrue, and we don’t want anything more to do with them.
‘The legal costs were so expensive for our case last summer, I had to borrow almost £300,000 but we managed to get a good chunk back and are still negotiating for the rest.
‘He lost the case against us and he’s now lost the case with Andrew over the hedge and now he’s suddenly a loser which makes us very happy because it’s very stressful.’
Mr Small said:’ We didn’t object to any of the improvements he wanted to make to the main house, if he wanted to change that into Buckingham Palace that was fine, but we are fiercely protective over the Green Belt.
‘But he put a maintenance shed up in the Green Belt field at the end of his house and you just can’t do that, it had lights and everything and it looked awful and that’s what we complained about.’
Mr Small added:’ We never saw them at the local pub before it shut or the village fete – they don’t have anything to do with us and it beggars the question why move here.
‘We are all pretty close knit and a friendly bunch supporting each other, but he has antagonised so many people that I don’t know how he can face living here.
‘It’s just such a long running saga that Netflix could make a film out of the whole thing. It’s such an idyllic place to live but we are not going to let this creep spoil it for us.
‘Over the years I have written so many letters to him, saying, “Come on Mark, this is all so silly why don’t we just forget about it” but I didn’t get a reply.’
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
