Next door's bloody tree

[Notmycircusnotmyotter]

What can I do about the tree next door that blocks the sun in my garden for most of the day? I wouldn't expect it to be chopped down but it needs properly paring back. I spoke with my neighbour and she says it's expensive so if I want it done I have to pay.

what's reasonable? Are there precedents?

thanks

@Ponderingwindow There’s leaves to deal with in the autumn. Neighbours don’t sweep them up. There’s bird poo. There’s trees that a humungous and in the wrong place blocking all sunshine. Lawns become moss. You obviously are not a gardener. Plus the expense and difficulty over maintaining a tree. We all like some shade but a 40 ft sycamore isn’t the answer.

Because we get very little sun in our part of the country, so if it happens to shine on the 2 days a week I'm off work, I would like to sit in it. We wanted a big garden for years...except now it's big and shady from march to October.

And finding plants that enjoy dry shade is a twat of a thing.

Birds don't even nest in the one next door to us. They just sit and shit. We're like a public toilet!

Too true.

Plus having a large tree close to your house affects house insurance . It’s a risk from the roots and if a tree falls on the house.

@Effervescentfrothy If houses have shallow foundations, huge trees are a huge risk. It’s foolish not to manage them.

This is especially true if you live in an area with clay soil - the risk of subsidence is real and selling a property with subsidence history can be a challenge in the same category as asbestos and Japanese knotweed.

Also risk of heave developing if the tree is drastically reduced or completely removed.

We need trees. You can't trim trees during nesting season.

@Jasmin71 We need the right trees in the right places! It’s not rocket science. The op can certainly get quotes! No extra large tree is well placed in domestic gardens or in close proximity to houses. Plenty of large trees are suitable in parks and farmland. Smaller trees are wonderful in gardens.

I have to say I agree. We were on the other side of this, being home owners with trees in our garden. We made sure they were trimmed on a regular basis because otherwise they would have been a nuisance to our neighbours. I wouldn’t have dreamt of telling them to sort it themselves..we bought the house with trees and as we saw it that made us responsible for their upkeep.

Likewise when a tree behind our house got ash dieback and dropped a massive branch into our garden I contacted the owners to ask them to sort out their dangerous tree. The tree was on their land and so I saw it as their responsibility. They apologised and got the tree removed because the disease had gone too far for it to be safe.

@dreaminglife It’s not her responsibility. But - taking a pragmatic line - it might well be the only way. At least the tree owner has agreed to it being reduced - many won’t. So either it’s stalemate with both getting entrenched, or the op pays. I know what I would do to get light and some sun! Pay up.

Totally agree

@CountryGirlInTheCity You are, of course, reasonable. Many people are not. They won’t repair their fences, trim their trees or remove dead ones! Some people are dreadful irresponsible neighbours, unfortunately. Waiting for them to reduce a tree will be a long wait.