Tree blocking light advice.

[rubberhead]

Hi all hoping you can help me. We moved house a few weeks ago into our dream house. Only problem is our elderly neighbours have an absolutely enormous tree at the side of their garden which really blocks our light in the garden and in the kitchen. We don't want to be the arsehole new neighbours as they seem very nice but I was wondering if there is a rule on height of trees and blocking light etc? For information the said tree is at the side of their house and causes them no issues at all so it'll never be delt with if we don't address it.

Thanks for any help x

@PatsyJStone thank you so much 😊

My mums neighbour agreed for my mum to pay to have their trees trimmed / thinned as they were blocking a lot of light to my mums house and no tv signal etc as the owner had let them get out of control
Tree surgeon said they were too high and close as they were and not good for trees so she was doing them some good in the long run anyway.
Trees still there and probably healthier now , had to be done at certain time of year though due fo birds etc
Mum gets lots of birds , bats and various animals in her garden

YABU

Trees can also sometimes cause foundation issues or drainage as previous poster pointed out sometimes the wrong trees are planted in wrong place or not looked after and allowed to grow to big and then become dangerous

“So... we are now one tree closer to the extinction of the human race.”

Just a melodramatic that. You think lack of trees will take us out….

Good luck OP. I’d agree to trim back for a neighbour, so hope they are reasonable!

Hi OP, I'm in the position of your neighbours. A couple bought the house behind our house and asked we cut down the sycamore tree at the foot of our garden as it's limiting their light. To remove it would cost a fortune, decimate our garden and be very disruptive (terraced house to carry it through). It would also destroy the last tree in our street.

Although I wouldn't choose to have the tree there - it was there long before we arrived - most of our neighbours love it. It also feels very wrong to be cutting down a tree in 2022. So it will stay. The neighbours are welcome to cut the branches that hang over their garden, as you will be.

OP, stop it. You won't, though.

No wonder the poor planet is in the state it is, if you were my neighbour I tell you a big fat NO ! Consider others and not just yourself !

OP I just watched a YouTube video of an 80 ft tree being taken down. Here is a link to it if interested.

So you don't even know what an oak tree looks like? You just about recognise 'ivy' all over your house (bet it was Virginia creeper), but otherwise your botanical knowledge extends to big tree, little tree, bush?

You need to check whether the tree is protected before touching it. We have a mature tree which was protected even before we bought the house and which overhangs a neighbour’s small garden but the tree officer’s permission was needed just to thin it. We offered to go halves with neighbour, who objected to the tree, but he didn’t want to pay, so nothing was done.

This is good advice.
We recently reduced 3 x 70ft trees and thinned the canopy . Transformed the garden and let the sunlight through we feel like we have a new garden. £800
Offer to pay half first then offer to cover the entire cost if they seem reluctant.

It’s your responsibility, you don’t get off it by blaming the tree surgeon. In fact many “tree surgeons” are not qualified, they are more odd jobs men- plus given their income comes from cutting down trees they probably aren’t inclined to do the right thing if they can get away with it. I know this from several first hand experiences