I think neighbours have killed two beautiful old trees

[OhForkItThen]

At the back of my garden we have some large trees, the neighbours on each side too.
Lovely trees that screen the windows from a large block of flats and a main road amazingly well. Also a good windbreak on the hill. It’s not a standard layout of terraced houses so it’s quite open where the trees are.

The neighbours huge house is split into flats with a car park, in this car park (which is near the size of our house plot) they have a beautiful old weeping willow and an oak. They haven’t sprung leaves this year and are clearly dead. My birch and ash within 10 meters are fine and the other neighbour behind has a healthy oak and conifer wit branches that actually touch. It’s looks unbelievable that anything has killed two healthy trees of different types in close proximity to other big old trees (all trees pre-date 100 yr old houses bar the conifer). Very healthy looking trees right through autumn.

I’m really annoyed on many levels, it’ll reduce the wind break to other trees putting them at risk, it’ll look ugly, they are very beautiful trees particularly the willow, we’ll be overlooked (and overlook) the flats behind us, the noise break to the road will be reduced and there is a ton of wildlife in this patch of gardens in a city.

Realistically what would you do? It’s a conservation area, I don’t know if the trees are quite inside it or boarder it though. The road at the front is part of it, but not the car parks side access...

I would report them asap.

Cynical me thinks the large under used car park is a prime development plot, own access, big plot and bare apart from trees

I think the best thing to do would be to contact the tree officer for your local council, he’ll be able to tell you whether or not anything was approved to be done/if they had protection orders on them. If your neighbours have been naughty they will get a hell of a fine!

Is it rather odd to accuse of trees being simply dead? On one hand it sounds like a mad accusation, but on the other I can’t imagine two healthy old trees next to each other of different types dying like that. Especially with trees so close their branches intertwine being fine.

Our neighbours had two beautiful old willow trees but they unfortunately both died and had to be removed. Definitely ‘natural causes’ in this case so it can happen.

Speak to the Tree Officer at the Council. They will probably want to come and have a look. If there are any other trees nearby they can slap a TPO on them which makes it much harder for anyone to chop them down/prune them (will need planning).

I wouldn't be at all surprised that someone has killed them if they are looking at developing the land.

They’re within the conservation zone, I found a map online, so TPOs will already be on them (and they are probably the biggest most visible trees in it!).
I’m going to risk looking like a bit...

Pressed send...

Like a nut

I’ve never ever reported anything ever, not even their unplanned for garden structure which will probably now be noted, but these trees have really irritated me. It’s probably the biggest weeping willow I’ve seen and the oak must be really old.

Possibility they did this as the trees were causing movement, subsidence to their property?

I'd report to the tree officer and leave him or her to deal with it.

If the trees are in a conservation area, they will have needed permission to do anything to them (even pruning, I think?)

I think that, if they are responsible for damage to the trees, they are legally obliged to plant replacements within a certain time frame. This is certainly true if the trees were subject to a TPO, but I think the rules about conservation areas are similar.

I sympathise OP, and my advice is to go full steam ahead without thinking twice about looking like a nut. Our neighbours ringed a beautiful ancient beech tree in their garden, which was subject to a TPO, as part of their long term plan to get planning permission to build a massive ugly house there. The people who lived here at the time didn't follow it up, and by the time the neighbours applied for planning the time frame in which re-planting should have been enforced had elapsed. In my experience the council (overstretched, understaffed) will only do something if you make it difficult for them not to.

You're not going to look like a nut.

I've spoken to our tree officer a couple of times (for this property and our previous house). They WILL BE VERY INTERESTED if somebody has euthanased a tree for potential development purposes.

I'm trying to get a tree removed at the moment that is causing damage to a property, it doesn't have a TPO but is in a conservation area and I need permission to do it. This included boreholes, trial pits, drain CCTV and monitoring of the building.

Please do report them.

You need to get someone out OP. Dont assume nobody will be interested. Trust me they will.