Garden trees too big? neighbour complaint

[Alucidnation]

dhutch said:

But also mainly, tell them to ps off.

Daniel

Well done, Daniel.




Anyway, i would think legalities shouldn't really come into it.

Why not just get them trimmed and be done with it?

That way, you can keep them under control, and not make life difficult for yourself.

[2gins]

Keep the lumber and burn it preferably while wet and with a gentle breeze in the right direction.

[eldar]

Skyedriver said:

Are they TPO'ed

This is the key question.

[Boosted LS1]

Are they older then the neighbour's house? If so tell them to do one.

[272BHP]

TPO'd?

See the thing is I want to do the right thing. The neighbour is old and lives alone and I think their garden is a source of joy and I don't want to spoil this for them. It's just that it is near to Christmas and I have a few big bills already to sort out before the wallet emptying season begins.

The trees certainly aren't big or strong enough to climb. One is like a cherry blossom tree although I am assured it is not actually a cherry blossom!

If it will only be a few hundred then I will be ecstatic but I live in Surrey and it costs a grand to get someone to replace a roof tile.

[227bhp]

Needs pictures.

[Boosted LS1]

Bury them, not the trees.

[Brads67]

Just ignore him, and when they grow bigger and cause damage to his property, he can sue you and you can lament on not getting the stupid things cut right back when you should have.

People live near trees , yes, but when they get massive they can surely expect them to be properly maintained , no ?

[Wacky Racer]

272BHP said:

TPO'd?

See the thing is I want to do the right thing. The neighbour is old and lives alone and I think their garden is a source of joy and I don't want to spoil this for them. It's just that it is near to Christmas and I have a few big bills already to sort out before the wallet emptying season begins.

The trees certainly aren't big or strong enough to climb. One is like a cherry blossom tree although I am assured it is not actually a cherry blossom!

If it will only be a few hundred then I will be ecstatic but I live in Surrey and it costs a grand to get someone to replace a roof tile.

Tree preservation order.


You can get in deep st if you cut down a tree with a tpo.



I doubt these would have them though.

[Andrew_S]

TPO stands for tree preservation order.

If they do have a TPO on them then you are required to maintain them, but you can’t cut them down.

TPO’s are usually but not always placed on trees in a conservation area.

Your local authority can advise if you phone them up.

[foiled]

Don’t want to cut trees with risk of frost coming, tell your neighbour you’ll get it sorted in the spring

Edited by foiled on Saturday 17th November 05:34

[PurpleTurtle]

272BHP said:

TPO'd?

See the thing is I want to do the right thing. The neighbour is old and lives alone and I think their garden is a source of joy and I don't want to spoil this for them. It's just that it is near to Christmas and I have a few big bills already to sort out before the wallet emptying season begins.

The trees certainly aren't big or strong enough to climb. One is like a cherry blossom tree although I am assured it is not actually a cherry blossom!

If it will only be a few hundred then I will be ecstatic but I live in Surrey and it costs a grand to get someone to replace a roof tile.

Good on you for a positive approach to it. Photos would help - a 15m tree sounds massive to me. Probably with massive bills to suit, as you say.

Does the neighbour want you to prune it a bit or fell the fecker!?

[PositronicRay]

Andrew_S said:

TPO stands for tree preservation order.

If they do have a TPO on them then you are required to maintain them, but you can’t cut them down.

TPO’s are usually but not always placed on trees in a conservation area.

Your local authority can advise if you phone them up.

You should apply to the planning dept before carrying out any work. I've trimmed minor bits without but for a crown reduction council permission was req, I was knocked back a couple of times, 3rd time lucky.

[Escort3500]

Brads67 said:

Just ignore him, and when they grow bigger and cause damage to his property, he can sue you and you can lament on not getting the stupid things cut right back when you should have.

People live near trees , yes, but when they get massive they can surely expect them to be properly maintained , no ?

The OP says that the neighbour is concerned about loss of light and leaf fall affecting his property. No mention of “potential damage” or proximity to a building.

[anonymous-user]

OP - how far are the trees from the neighbours house?

I’m assuming you have back to back gardens but facts would be useful.

[GrumpyTwig]

272BHP said:

We have been in this house for 4 years and have not been too bothered about gardening, I mow the lawn and try and keep the place tidy but that's about it. We have 2 trees in the back garden that are certainly not the biggest in the street but they are about 15M tall and the neighbour has complained about the size of them.

I received a polite but quite formal letter from my neighbour informing me that the trees are obscuring some of their light and they also deposit leaves in their garden that they don't want to have to tidy up.

Legally where do I stand here? I would like to get someone in to give them a trim (is that possible?) but I dread the cost of someone having to get specialist equipment in to get that high. What kind of cost are we looking at here? thousands? would I have to get it trimmed every year?

Crazy idea but maybe be the mature side of the equation and go talk to them rather than sending letters. Ask them what they expect and go from there. Maybe they just want some help raking leaves up, it is a pain.

[272BHP]

Side by side gardens. Tree is about 10 metres from their kitchen and 1 Metre or so from the dividing fence between us.

Funny thing is my other neighbour on my left has a tree that is double the size of mine.

Busy morning today but I will try and get some pictures up later.

[was8v]

Keep them happy. Especially if you are not bothered either way. The last thing you want is to fall out with neighbours.

I paid £300 for the removal of a neighbours leylandii which had grown out of control and shaded my garden.

Best £300 I spent on the garden, neighbour happy too apart from the stump....

[mikeiow]

GrumpyTwig said:

Crazy idea but maybe be the mature side of the equation and go talk to them rather than sending letters. Ask them what they expect and go from there. Maybe they just want some help raking leaves up, it is a pain.

This!
The neighbour is old & lives alone: go & chat with them! You can see it from their side of the fence, you can decide it it makes sense to help by trimming, hacking or indeed just agreeing to go round once a month to help in the garden!
You can also have a conversation that might demonstrate if they can afford to help pay (elderly in Surrey suggests they can, but who knows!), go halves or whether you will have to do it all.
Regardless, they will be grateful for a polite conversation over a cuppa, I bet.

[V8RX7]

Wacky Racer said:

I always try and look at things from the other person's point of view,

Very large trees are a nuisance, and how would you like it if his leaves fell in your garden?

Very large trees are a fabulous !

In my first house a neighbour had a huge willow that covered 50% of her garden (approx 30m x 8m) it covered a percentage of mine too, I felt very lucky to have the benefit of the tree with only a tiny bit of the work

I now own 5 acres and have hundreds of trees, the leaf clearing takes at least 7 full days work alone but to me it's definitely worth it