Last fucking straw

[sarahC40]

Handhold please and advice (on how not to utterly lose my shit or get arrested for this). It’s not been a great lockdown.

Saving Grace: my garden. Lovely tree, probably in the wrong place but predates the houses, was cut down without warning, so that my view, which was of said lovely tree, is now of the back of someone’s house. They have now closed all of their blinds because, yes, we are now overlooking each other.

The tree is in no man’s land between the gardens - it doesn’t belong to them. They’ve got down everything that overhung my garden (my son woke up to find men climbing over my fence and most of tree gone) and they’ve left a twenty foot high stump. My other neighbours were open mouthed in shock, so this isn’t just me sounding off; it’s horrendous.

I know there’s nothing that I can do, but I would like some vengeful suggestions that I won’t act on but will help me as I try to stop crying at the fucking awful sight of their fugly house.

@apalledandshocked

Find out where they park their car and strew bird seed near it early every morning. They will never work out WHY it is always covered in wood pigeon shit

If they complain say "Oh yes - the birds used to roost in that lovely tree - they must have moved on to your car since you took it down."

www.barcham.co.uk/buy-big-mature-trees/

My neighbour’s chopped down an ash tree before Christmas, between us and them. I’m bloody delighted (sorry, OP) because it dropped thousands of seeds, I was forever yanking saplings out of my flowerbeds and the neighbouring gardens are overrun. They’re a bloody menace. It was just out of control, 60ft high in between 2 suburban garden, totally cut our light in the afternoon.

I’m interested to see if there was a TPO on the tree and why your neighbour felt it was within her rights to do this?

@AmazingBouncingFerret

We have the same. A huge oak tree in a no mans land between the back gardens because it pre-dates our houses and most importantly, it has a preservation order on it. If it didn’t, the building company would have chopped it down or left it to be in one of our gardens. You should call the council.

Will be tomorrow morning. Thanks for the info

Anyonebut

Where I live Eucalyptus are considered the devil. I hate the smell, and they can render the soil infertile with their acidic leaves and shallow roots, which can also cause damage to foundations as they spread horizontally.“

We lived in an 1830s house in Truro with a fabulous Eucalyptus of the same age, around 25 ft from the front of the house. No problems whatsoever. It was fabulous . The park had spectacular specimens too, beautiful bark. They obviously thrive in the Southwest.

I’ve planted one in our now NW garden too. It’s lovely. Smells fab.

Just because the tree predates the houses doesn’t automatically mean there is a TPO on it. Our trees all predate the surrounding houses, there are no TPOs and we live in an area which is very keen on them.

A VERYLONGTIME AGO you can come and live next door to me, I love trees, the more the better if kept pruned. My garden is a delight of all sorts of trees and so many different kinds of birds, butterflies visit.

I would stick up a six foot fence and cover your side with climbing forsythia, roses etc and leave them looking at a bare fence 😆.. also plant some evergreens. Hope you can resolve it

OP, while you’re waiting for your new trees/the old one to regrow, can I suggest putting a top of the range sex pond at the end of your garden and inviting all the neighbours round for some floodlit nakey hot tub fun every evening this summer?

Thanks for the solidarity and for the humour. Really appreciate the info about checking for tpo and will get onto that. Everyone is still in one piece and I've calmed down although the reality of looking out on the fucking ugly house is burning me. Conversations *forthright will be had in the cold and calm light of day and I will be the articulate bitch I can be when not utterly overwrought.

It's been a horrid year; we've had the anniversary of a bereavement this weekend, unemployment worries and aging and frail parents to cope with. I love my home and garden - its been my refuge and in a year when everything has been out of control, to have this action taken was horrible. I think that's why I had such a visceral reaction thanks for listening.

Don't know if this has already been said, but it is illegal to cut down trees during the nesting season, which is now, without checking that for nests. Report them to the police, they are criminals.

Just because the tree predates the houses doesn’t automatically mean there is a TPO on it. Our trees all predate the surrounding houses, there are no TPOs and we live in an area which is very keen on them

Could it just be that no one has actually applied to have the trees protected? Any member of the public can do this and It's a straightforward process, though an application doesn't always result in a TPO.

@Benjispruce2

Why cut the whole eucalyptus down? Why not keep it pruned?

Because no sooner than it had been lopped it would burst forth with another 15m growth pretty much overnight. And lopping is expensive. I’d not have cut a native tree down but it wasn’t popular with the wildlife at all. Only the occasional pigeon would sit in it

@BeforetheFlood

Just because the tree predates the houses doesn’t automatically mean there is a TPO on it. Our trees all predate the surrounding houses, there are no TPOs and we live in an area which is very keen on them

Could it just be that no one has actually applied to have the trees protected? Any member of the public can do this and It's a straightforward process, though an application doesn't always result in a TPO.

Yes, indeed. I just wanted to help avoid potential disappointment as some posters appear to be suggesting there MUST be a TPO in place! There might be, but it’s equally (more) likely there isn’t.

When we got ours trimmed, the tree surgeon asked if there was a TPO and did his own check with the council before agreeing to the job.

Solidarity OP.
I live in a neighbourhood populated by (lovely) people who like things tidy. Lots of concreted over front gardens for parking cars on and lots of astroturf out the back so as to reduce the mud. It breaks my heart.

Personally I think people who own or rent land should have a responsibility to tend to the biodiversity of that land and perhaps a tax if they fail. It is just so shortsighted, what these people do in the name of "looking tidy".

It's getting warmer at this time of year, grass is beginning to grow again but it's still wet.
Sneak into their garden at night and lay grass seed in a giant penis shape/word/symbol of your choice. It'll grow slightly different to the rest and will be there until they returf the lawn.

All tree surgeons do a tpo check before taking one down . Here’s one we had dropped in our garden. 👍

You don't need to get het up about it-give it three months and it will be growing like the clappers

We 'inherited' an ash when my NDN put a fence up and decided the tree (very small at the time) was on our side so ran the fence on their side and built a wall.

Years later once it had died off and the branches were in danger of breaking we had it felled . If we'd had it pollarded the trunk would keep growing and damaged their wall.
£580 later ( for a tree that probably wasn;t ours ) the stump hasn't put out any shoots so it's properly dead

Ash do re-seed themselves readily though .

@Chumleymouse

All tree surgeons do a tpo check before taking one down . Here’s one we had dropped in our garden. 👍

Not all do or care. My grandparents have an acre of woodland in their garden and when they have their annual trim up of their trees the surgeon always offer to clear out a few with TPOs that are absolutely not "storm damaged" for extra £££££

@70isaLimitNotaTarget

You don't need to get het up about it-give it three months and it will be growing like the clappers

We 'inherited' an ash when my NDN put a fence up and decided the tree (very small at the time) was on our side so ran the fence on their side and built a wall.

Years later once it had died off and the branches were in danger of breaking we had it felled . If we'd had it pollarded the trunk would keep growing and damaged their wall.
£580 later ( for a tree that probably wasn;t ours ) the stump hasn't put out any shoots so it's properly dead

Ash do re-seed themselves readily though .

I have just been reading that you can't pollard a mature tree. Thinking the tree surgeon wasnt one

Getting rid of a garden tree, unless it is endangering something, is reprehensible.

If you want to real revenge get loads and loads of very loud wind chimes strategically placed at the end of your boundary !! That should do it

I get you SylHellais I've become a bit TPO happy in the last couple of years on the basis of nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Mind you, it doesn't always stop them from being cut down. Our most obnoxious neighbour tried to have a beautiful old beech cut down, was told they couldn't because of the TPO and so ringed it with wire so it died. They were then able to have it removed and apply for planning permission for a 5 bedroom house in their garden, which is what they'd intended all along.

Some councils let you check online if a tree has a TPO. Hopefully it does and you can report them.
Then buy a whole row of trees and plant them across the bottom of your garden. Refuse to cut them when they get too high.

If you really want to piss them off I would recommend getting a hot tub for the summer, and spend every evening in it while watching films being projected onto the fence. I have friends who do this and their neighbours HATE them.

Naively I would expect tree surgeons to check for TPOs before starting work.