An Edinburgh resident is locked in a row with the City of Edinburgh Council after the installation of bins ‘led to a rodent infestation’ - among a list of other problems.
Philippa Berry, who lives in Dalry Cemetery Lodge House, was forced to use pest control after five bins were put outside her property. She says the Friends of Dalry Cemetery and the council were in the wrong to do so.
Philippa, 58, said the bin placement displaced rodents into her home. After ongoing debate between Philippa and the Friends group she asked the leader to cease all forms of communication.
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The group, as well as the council, declined to comment on the situation due to legal proceedings.
Philippa told us “They put five bins in, and as a result I got mice. I asked the council to put one bin there and I was told no, you can’t do that because of wheelchair access.
“The Friends of Dalry Cemetery ask to put five bins in and that’s allowed?”
“They’ve breached my privacy as the bins were placed outside my kitchen window. I suffered issues with mice due to increased rat activity and damage to my front wall due to earth displacement by rats.
“The council has added a whole load of bins without speaking to me first, and the problem is I’ve had rats that dig under my house.
“I saw an albino rat in my garden, and it actually turned up to my pizza party. It turned up and started eating popcorn. Somebody was drunk and thought it was a pet so started stroking it.”
A report from the pest control company which Philippa contacted at the time reads: “Possible reason for mice in property may be down to increased rat activity at bins outside kitchen window area, fresh rat evidence was found at the bins.”
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The rodent problem was just one of Philippa's issues she told Edinburgh Live about, another being questions surrounding her security system. After Philippa had security cameras and panic buttons installed in a bid to tackle antisocial behaviour, the Friends of Dalry Cemetery are understood to have requested the system be 'reduced'.
They argued the sensor and audible alarm was going off for almost every person who walked into the cemetery - and requested Philippa adjust the sensors. This was after a shed, containing gardening tools and other items for the Friends group was placed across from her kitchen window.
Philippa added: "I was told it would be moved.
"They wouldn't give me a date, and there was people hanging around across from my window. Months later it was finally moved."
While her request for the shed to be moved due to a 'breach of privacy' was met, she claims it took months. The shed, which was also erected outside her kitchen window, was eventually moved to another location in the cemetery after extensive communication between all three parties.
Back in 2021, after requesting to plant daffodil bulbs in the graveyard, Philippa was given permission by the council - though things didn't go as planned. It's understood that after grabbing her tools and getting to work planting the bulbs with a friend, she was told her 'methodology and plan' should have been approved first. Correspondence from council officers claims the rotary drill she used had the potential to "disturb human remains" and tombstones.
Philippa is currently pursuing legal action against the council. Both the council and the Friends of Dalry Cemetery declined to comment on "ongoing legal proceedings."
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