A GROUP of sycamore trees are to be cut down in size following complaints they are encroaching on residential gardens. 

The four trees are in the grounds of Imagination House an office block in Station Road, Chepstow. 

Monmouthshire County Council has approved an application to reduce the height and width of the trees closest to the neighbouring homes by 50 per cent. 

Agent Rob Hussey, of property firm DGTS, supplied photographs of the trees “taken from the property that is persistently complaining” about the encroachment. 

Undesirable sycamore characteristics are fast growth, large leaves and dense branches that cast deep shade, prolific production of sycamore seeds and masses of waxy autumn leaves that don't break down quickly and can create a slimy mess that creates issues with drains, pavements and railway lines.

Sycamore might have been introduced by the Romans or in the 1500s. Since then, it’s colonised woodland becoming a source of food and shelter for wildlife including aphids that leave behind their tacky honeydew.