Garden trees too big? neighbour complaint

[272BHP]

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?

[PositronicRay]

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?

Tree surgeons aren't too expensive, I certainly wouldn't do the job. Get a quote crown reduction, a few hundred probably.

[Badda]

If you don’t want to trim them, why not politely ask your neighbour if they’d agree to a contribution to the cost?

[Bill]

PositronicRay said:

Tree surgeons aren't too expensive, I certainly wouldn't do the job. Get a quote crown reduction, a few hundred probably.

And then give it to the neighbours.

[Lemming Train]

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?

Reading between the lines, the neighbour wants the trees gone and no amount of trimming them with make them happy so be prepared to either have them removed or write back telling them to do one.

[sidekickdmr]

Thinning out of a couple of 15M trees is a mornings work for a team of surgeons, £300 I reckon

[Little Lofty]

Complaining that he gets leaves in his garden, really I’ve heard it all now.

[Wacky Racer]

I always try and look at things from the other person's point of view, depends whether they are being reasonable or not.

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

Get a couple of quotes and take it from there. Should not be more than a few hours work I wouldn't have thought.

Legally, I don't think he can make you do anything.

[Ian Geary]

Boo hoo. I don't want to tidy up leaves either, but that's what happens when you live near trees.

You're under no obligation to tidy their garden for them. I suppose their letter is better than coming back from holidays to find your tree butchered, but it seems a bit cheeky.

The tree can't be dangerous, and there is some right of light law about evergreen / semi evergreen hedges.

But ultimately, they are benefiting from the aesthetic and environmental impact of your trees.

You should write them a letter telling them this, but that you won't charge them for the pleasure.

It depends how well you get on with your neighbours I guess.

You could just say you have no plans to reduce the height of the tree at the current time, but if the neighbour wants to contribute 50%, you might be minded to do so.

I have a mental list of where surplus cash would go around the house, garden and with the family. I wouldn't let my neighbour bounce me into spending my cash how they wanted.

Ian

[tim0409]

Wacky Racer said:

Legally, I don't think he can make you do anything.

There is legislation that can compel owners to reduce the height of hedges/trees in certain, clearly defined circumstances; the OP should check it before he responds. Much better to come to a reasonable, amicable resolution as previously stated.

[Lemming Train]

tim0409 said:

Wacky Racer said:

Legally, I don't think he can make you do anything.

There is legislation that can compel owners to reduce the height of hedges/trees in certain, clearly defined circumstances; the OP should check it before he responds. Much better to come to a reasonable, amicable resolution as previously stated.

I agree, but when neighbours start off by writing official letters telling you need to do x y and z rather than simply walking round, knocking on your front door and discussing the matter in a friendly manner over a nice cup of tea/coffee, it doesn't tend to bode well for reaching an amicable resolution.

[Andrew_S]

tim0409 said:

Wacky Racer said:

Legally, I don't think he can make you do anything.

There is legislation that can compel owners to reduce the height of hedges/trees in certain, clearly defined circumstances; the OP should check it before he responds. Much better to come to a reasonable, amicable resolution as previously stated.

This. Your neighbours may know something that you don’t. So check with your local authority before responding.

Depending upon what trees you have, four years growth could be quite a lot and may well be a nuisance to your neighbours.

[Joe M]

A picture would speak a thousand words in giving us an idea if the neighbour is being reasonable or not.

[Kawasicki]

My neighbour asked me to cut down a large evergreen that was casting a shadow on his back garden. I did.

Cool story bro.

[anonymous-user]

What type of trees are they OP?

[Wacky Racer]

garyhun said:

What type of trees are they OP?

Big ones.

[anonymous-user]

Wacky Racer said:

garyhun said:

What type of trees are they OP?

Big ones.

One is not amused.

[Chrisgr31]

We do need to see photos of the trees. However there is no particular right to light and leaves falling in your garden are tough luck, and the neighbours should get a rake.

However it does of course depend on the type of tree, the location of the tree, the size of the gardens etc. Post a picture please

[dhutch]

Also be aware some tree 'surgeons' are climbers who have done the three day course and know nothing about trees. You can't trim a tree like a hedge, you have to cut whole branches off at sensible locations to leave something balanced without taking too much off in one go.

But also mainly, tell them to ps off.

Daniel

[Skyedriver]

Are they TPO'ed