Wisteria felled over fear it helped spread rodents

A wisteria at the centre of a dispute between a home owner and a local council has been cut down following claims it was helping the spread of rats, despite disagreements between pest controllers.

Katy Gordon-Quayle from Baydon near Aldbourne, was told by Wiltshire Council the plant affixed to her thatched property was causing a rodent problem in the village.

Despite hiring three independent pest controllers, who disagreed with one who was council-appointed, she said she felt she had no choice but to cut it down.

Councillor Paul Sample said a legal notice had been issued and the council was continuing "to work closely with Mrs Gordon-Quayle to support compliance".

Gordon-Quayle said the council had wasted "their time ... dealing with a non-existent problem".

She first received a letter from the authority about the wisteria, which she had previously received as a gift, in September 2025.

She wrote back to the council, acknowledging there had been rats in the area, but insisted she "hadn't had problems with them for years".

But following a visit from a council-appointed pest controller, she was served with a legal notice, saying she had to cut down the plant as it was believed to be the cause.

Despite assurances the issue was being looked into, on being informed the council were visiting the property to check for compliance and with seemingly "no right of appeal", her husband eventually cut it down.

Gordon-Quayle has since been told she is allowed to let the wisteria grow back, despite the ongoing rat problem, and hoped the notice will soon be lifted.

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