What can we do about neighbours tree

[ScottishStottie]

Neighbour has a big tree in his garden. It shades our garden completely, leaving the grass very dry and struggling to grow. Tree is not maintained or cut back ever.

Neighbour has told us he also does not like the tree but cant afford to do anything about it. So basically said that if we paid, he would 'let' us get rid of it. But this grates a bit, why should we swallow the cost, its his tree??

Noticed that its encroaching into telephone(?) Wires going into the house. Tbh not actually sure what the wires are for. But they must do something.

If it looks likely to damage the wires, can we force him to do something about it? Had a look on council website but only found stuff about public area trees, not private garden trees.

Attached pics of said tree for reference.

I would ask the local agricultural college if there are any arboricultural students who want to practice taking a tree down? My friend did an arbor course and cut down my tree for practice. It was shading my garden too.

Soft touch here and I paid to remove a tree on our land upsetting some neighbours, but I only did it as I had a tree surgeon coming to remove some trees that had issues, and maintain ones that were healthy. I did slightly resent paying to remove the one that was healthy and causing us no issues. If it had been just the one I think I’d of made the same offer as your neighbour, I think that one cost 300 including them removing all debris. To be honest if he’s letting you do it, when many others wouldn’t, I’d bite his hand off and get it done. Do check for TPO’s first though.

@Toria70 I feel your pain. If they won't co-operate, get someone to cut it back hard to the border. If they are pleading poverty, bite the bullet and get the thing cut down at your own cost.

This whole subject is a real bugbear of mine. Yes, we need trees, but large trees in small gardens which affect nearby neighbours are a real issue. So often the owners of problem trees are totally selfish and irresponsible about the impact of their overgrown trees. I wish the law would change. I'd happily pay to have the nearby tree reduced in size, plus some sort of tree tax on top, to pay for planting a new tree somewhere else to help the environment, but selfish tree owners hold all the cards. Grrhhhhh!

@Headfull I'm glad there are some kind hearted people out there, who do the right thing by their neighbours. I'm sure your neighbour really appreciated that (and if my neighbour did that, I would happily contribute some cash).

@ Defenbaker kind of you to say. They’re good neighbours and both they and I intend on being here as long as possible. They appreciated it and it’s made a big difference to them. Not flush at the moment (no holidays) but not on the breadline, and I think if £300 helps toward me having 30+ more years (I hope) of good relations with my neighbours it’s worth it.

But cutting that tree hard to the border wouldn’t give much more light and would leave an ugly brown mess of exposed trunk/bare internal branches etc surely.

If it encroaches on ny power lines the utility companies just come in and deal with it, cut it back. You don’t own those lines.nor are you responsible for maintaining them.

As for the tree, you’ve two options, either pay to have it cut down or put up and shut up basically.

It’s really that simple.

may i suggest this starter pack...

That looks like a conifer - I have one backing on to my garden that the neighbours finally had lopped as it nearly took our roof out.

I think if the trees were there long before you arrived (and were ancient even before you were born), then you have no right to chop them down.
Something that could have taken hundreds of years to grow, and which supports wildlife and millions of invertebrates should be able to stay.

This planet is on its knees and needs all the help it can get.

I would rather look at the tree than this houses it’s obscuring.

Pay for it. Have it removed. It is so hard to try and legally force a neighbour to trim/remove trees. You would spend more on legal fees and court cases.

Try having a neighbour who will not trim their giant leylandi hedge (even when we offer to pay) because they need their privacy (sod the fact it’s killed half our garden).

HeronLanyon: "But cutting that tree hard to the border wouldn’t give much more light and would leave an ugly brown mess of exposed trunk/bare internal branches etc surely."

@HeronLanyon I was referring to the walnut tree. I agree it may not give much more light, but it may reduce the amount of mess the tree drops in the PP's garden - walnut trees are notorious for the mess they make, as their nuts give off a dark oil which stains everything.

It makes me laugh when I see comments from people implying that ancient trees should be left alone as they've been around longer than the humans complaining about them. Trees don't have rights and shouldn't be treated as having priority over humans. Large trees can be beautiful things, but they belong in parks and woodlands - not in close proximity to people's homes and gardens where they can cause many problems. Selfish neighbours who let their trees overgrow often say to their unhappy neighbours - "The tree was there when you moved here - you knew it would grow!" To which the response springs to mind "Yes, but I thought that the owner of the tree would take responsibility to keep it pruned to a reasonable size -- not act like a selfish pr**k!" Grhhhh!!! 😠 Like I said, the law needs updating, and if they want to introduce a special tax on anyone who cuts down a problem tree, to cover the cost of planting replacement trees elsewhere, I'd happily pay it, to get rid of the nightmare tree nearby. Failing that, I just have to hope that when it eventually falls, it falls on the selfish neighbour's house/car, it will serve him right.

Why should he pay? The tree is bothering you not him? Despite it being on his property he doesn’t care whether the tree is there or not. But you do care, hence if you want it removed pay for it

@Sunshinelollipops1 - there is special legislation concerning high hedges. I believe you can serve a notice requiring them to cut it down to 2 metres, and if they refuse, the council can somehow force the issue, maybe by having the work done and charging them for it. Worth looking into, perhaps. There is no such law re single trees, even ones that grow to 100ft or more.

The tree is better than the houses, they will overlook your garden

Well I also think your lawn looks in great condition and I don't see much in the way of shade

If you definitely want it gone then you will need to pay. Why should your neighbour pay when he's quite happy with the tree! I'm continually surprised on here by people's expectations tbh.

I also agree the view of the trees is better than the view of the houses opposite, personally I’d keep it. Get some grass seed that is for shaded areas, you can buy it on amazon and simply over seed it.

I would hate to have you as a neighbour, I hope you paid for the tree yourself you cheeky sod, lucky he even agreed I would make you pay a heck of a lot more to remove it

Me too

@AntiKaren
You resurrected a 2 and a half year old thread about a tree to have a go at the OP?

If they don’t have the money and can’t afford it. What do you expect them to do ?

They've probably saved enough now given this thread is two years old