Brighton Council Apologises After Mistakenly Cutting Resident Ivy Over Derelict Claims

Andrew Wheatley, a Brighton resident, was angered when a council worker cut down a large section of his ivy after neighbors complained it made his house look 'derelict.' The council worker was acting on a request for 'weed management' in the area, but mistakenly targeted Wheatley's ivy, severing the main stem and causing the plant to die. Wheatley criticized the council for the lack of consultation before the work was done, calling the act 'effectively criminal damage,' and expressed concern about the impact on local wildlife such as bees and snails that lived in the ivy. Brighton and Hove City Council acknowledged the error, stating the worker was well-meaning but had wrongly identified the ivy as needing removal. The council apologized for the mistake and highlighted that it stemmed from a misinterpretation of the weed management request. Wheatley remains frustrated by the incident and the council's approach to handling such complaints without homeowner engagement.