EXCLUSIVE Backyard feud boils over in Avalon, on Sydney's northern beaches - as bamboo plant grows EIGHT METRES tall and towers over next-door neighbour's property

Daily Mail​

17-05-2025

A homeowner has been ordered to cut her bamboo hedge after a neighbour dispute on Sydney 's affluent northern beaches was taken all the way to court.
Architect Matthew Power told Daily Mail Australia the feud started when his neighbour Jessica Fabris planted clumps of bamboo along their fence line on Central Road in Avalon Beach last year.
Mr Power quickly found the bamboo, which had grown up to eight metres tall, was stopping natural light from reaching the windows and skylights of the main living area of his home that is estimated to be worth $3.12million.
There was already a large tree in his neighbour's backyard that blocked sunlight, but the bamboo made the problem even worse.
He asked his neighbours if they could remove the bamboo and they initially said they would, but later refused and then stopped replying to his messages, Mr Power said.
In March, he was surprised when they suddenly listed their $3.2million five-bedroom property for sale.
'I just think it's a total disregard of someone else's amenity,' he said.
'We lost contact, they didn't respond to us, and then all of a sudden their house was on the market.
'It was a bit of a kick in the teeth - it just made no sense to me.'
Mr Power was reluctant to take legal action, but eventually made an application in the Land and Environment Court NSW and represented himself.
'It's horrible when you have something that really changes the way you use the house,' he explained.
Under NSW law, landowners can apply to the court for a remedy over hedges higher than 2.5m that obstruct sunlight or views.
In a decision on Tuesday, Acting Commissioner Peter Nichols said that during a site inspection he had observed the bamboo 'severely obstructs' the natural light to Mr Power's property.
The court had tried to reach Ms Fabris by phone, but she was absent from both the hearing and the site inspection.
Commissioner Nichols ordered Ms Fabris to cut the plant down and cover the cost.
Any replacement planting must be limited to plants with a height at maturity of 2.4metres or less.
Mr Power owns a property in Avalon where the median price for a house is $2.9million
Mr Power said the decision showed 'there are rights and there are ways you can fight bamboo'.
'You don't need to bring on lawyers, you can actually do this yourself.'
Avalon is considered a wealthy suburb with the median price for a house currently at $2.9million.
Mr Power was not the first Aussie homeowner to have problems with the fast-growing plant.
Paul Wilkinson, another resident of New South Wales, claimed this week that his neighbour's 'disruptive' bamboo plant was costing him thousands.
Mr Wilkinson said he had spent almost $3,000 attempting to reverse the damage of a plant that he says his neighbour first planted five years ago.
In that time, he claimed it had nearly doubled in size, standing at nine metres tall and entirely overshadowing his two-storey home.
Despite pleading with his neighbour to manage the plant, who he claims often leaves his property vacant given it is a holiday home, Mr Wilkinson insisted that he simply 'doesn't seem to care'.
Bamboo is an invasive plant that can spread to neighbouring properties, damage patios, foundations and waste pipes, and even grow in wall cavities.