To refuse to pay to cut neighbour's tree?

[Latetotheparty26]

Neighbour has a tree on their land which shades our garden in summer. I mentioned 3 years ago that it would be great if they could trim the height. At the time, they refused as they had just opened own business and couldn't afford it. I accepted that and felt bad asking.
I asked again last summer, was given lots of excuses about nesting birds (I didn't expect it cut until it was the right time to do so), that it was a noise barrier (very new house with great double glazing) and also a security measure (tree is between fence and main road which is 10-15 foot high off road).
Met with them this week for them to tell me (in a very round about way) that, yes they finally had sorted someone to come and trim all their hedges (out of which this tree grows) and that the guy would quote on the tree - I was very pleased but, they then went on to say that they guy would let me know his quote to sort the tree and that with their permission he was to quote it be trimmed to a (very specific) height and that he was to not trample/flatten the bushes surrounding it.
I was left speechless! They want me to pay, to cut their tree with very specific requirements!
I know legally we have no leg to stand on, the tree does not obstruct daylight from our house, but...SURELY I can expect my neighbour to be...reasonable and neighbourly and maintain a pretty big tree!? It's only going to get bigger!

YABU. It's not causing them any problems.

I think everyone on here is very unneighbourly my mum and dad had massive conifers (No good with heights but they were really really tall, taller than or at least as tall as a house) at the back of the house growing up. Every year the neighbour behind us would come round and ask us to cut them as other their garden was very shaded and every year my mum and dad cut them (not as much as the neighbour would have liked because she wanted them gone altogether but a good 3m or so off the height) because it's neighbourly and they could see it from her point of view. I'm glad no one o here is my neighbour.

YANBU OP people can't expect someone else to pay to have their own trees cut.

Of course you should pay, you want it gone and they're being nice enough to lose a tree they might really like to benefit you. They shouldn't be out of pocket as well!

You don’t like the tree but sounds like they do,you want it cut they don’t by the sounds of it so they are right you pay

If you want it gone I would pay. But if I was paying I'd get a few quotes.

Might not seem fair but they don't care about it and you do.

Thank you all.
They've not been the best of neighbours in all, there has been A LOT of small quibbles we've had with them over the years which I think have heightened my annoyance about this tree.
I think I expected them to ask us to pay half, maybe I'm just being naive...I wouldn't dream of asking them to pay if it were the other way around! It wouldn't even cross my mind to not get it done so that the tree was maintained for the future (safety wise over the road) and so that I wasn't annoying my neighbours!
My eyes have been opened to how other people think!

You may have another shock to come too as if the tree is over a certain size at waist height a licence is needed to even touch it.

in an ideal world you'd pay halves.... I have a stubborn old neighbour with a gigantic tree towering over ny house... won't get it trimmed. I'd jump through hoops if he said he would trim it if i paid for it..... My garden is like the middle of the night :-( I think if they don't care, and it's no bother to them you'll have to pay

What do you mean, safety wise over the road?

Our NDN has got a walnut tree in their garden. It's around 20% over their garden and 80% covering ours . It is protected by a TPO so when we had a dead branch over our side and young DC, we had to pay £100 for planning permission and £250 for a tree surgeon to remove it. All so our DC could use the garden.

Our NDN refuses to do anything with it, as obviously it isn't bothering them. It's grown so much over the last 20 years with no maintenance that it's now touching our gutters and covering most of our garden. And when we had an estate agent to give us a valuation recently as we're so pissed off with it, he spotted the tree as soon as he got out of the car and advised us to talk to the NDN....................

Moral of the story? Never buy a house with a large tree anywhere near your garden as the law is an ass and doesn't consider the NDN's whose lives can be blighted by lack of daylight and never ending crap dropping in their garden.

"there has been A LOT of small quibbles we've had with them over the years which I think have heightened my annoyance about this tree."

I think the quibbles may also have heightened their reluctance to pay for a tree they don't want cutting to be cut purely to please you!

The fact that you're so surprised about this - "how other people think" - perhaps gives an insight as to why you're not going to see eye to eye. They're unlikely to unreasonable in all of the matters you've quibbled, and in this matter, it seems pretty obvious YABU.

YABU
Leave the tree alone.
Also the nesting birds are not 'an excuse'.

I'd expect to go half but if they are only doing it for you then I'm not surprised they want you to pay.

Tell them it's too much for you to pay so you won't be going through with it and never mention the tree ever again.

My neighbours wanted us to cut a tree as it was obscuring their view - they paid. If they hadn't offered I would have said no. (We like our neighbours, but why pay if you like the tree?)

YABVU and they are being very generous by giving you the option of someone cutting it.

They’re not fussed about having their tree cut, so if you want it cut you should pay for it.

It’s their tree on their land. I think they’re being understanding considering copping it back.

if it helps you, I would be prepared to pay part. We are in a similar position somewhat. It's not the end of the world, but it would be nicer without, and we would pay towards cutting it down.

So you don't get on anyway, but were expecting them to pay for something that is just to do you a favour.

What kind of tree is it?

YABU totally unreasonable.
If you were my neighbour I’d not even be considering your request. Your neighbours are happy to have their tree trimmed entirely for your benefit, why on earth should they foot the bill?
I have a neighbour like you who bleats and bleats about the trees in our neighbourhood, wanting a beautiful beech cut down because it blocks their sun but won’t touch the 30ft conifers at the end of their own garden because they like the privacy....

I think you are being a CF. You want them to pay for something which is not causing them any problems and they might actually like being there? I think they have been very nice to agree to let it be cut for your benefit. They didn't have to do that. If I was them and you started saying you did not think you should pay, I would just say forget about it at all.

My eyes have been opened to how other people think!

They obviously don't want the tree cut yet have acquiesced to your request and organised for the work to be done. They just want you to pay for it as you are the one who wants it cut back. What's wrong with that?

Have you check the local plans? If the tree has a tree protection order on it, there are strict rules on how much it can be cut.

I had some oak boughs removed for safety reasons last year and it cost £700. That would be a lot of money if the work is unnecessary.

I think it's actually really good of them to be considering cutting it at all (especially if relations between you already aren't great) - let alone paying for any of it!

I wonder what your neighbour's perspective is on some of the other "quibbles" you've had over the years.

Just poison it.