AIBU to think that people should have to get permission from all surrounding neighbors before cutting down a tree?

[ElberethGilthoniel]

I live in a third floor flat with a lovely surrounding of trees on each side giving a treehouse sort of vibe.

Two times over this summer, neighbors in houses with large gardens have chopped down huge trees (approx 30 meters) that must have been over 50 years old.

This has really affected the views and amount of light from both sides of our flat, and made the whole area less appealing. Is it unreasonable to think that there should have been some neighborhood consultation before they did this? Or some sort of democratic process?

Lol, no.

Err, nope. It's their tree on their land! No neighbourhood consultation required!

YABU

So if anybody can see the tree they have a say?

Nope.

I'm with you OP in principle if not in practice.
So so sad when healthy unproblematic beautiful trees are just scythed down.

I'm trying to imagine my neighbours agreeing anything collectively.
If the bin man is late is causes online spats.
Nowt would ever get done.

Unless the trees are protected by a preservation order or within a conservation area then the owner is entitled to do what they like with it no matter what the neighbours think. Despite it affecting other people they're not required to consult. It might be polite of them to have let you know what they were going to do. Maybe they knew people would object so they just did it?

Unless it had a tree preservation order on it, it’s non of your business

And even if it did - that’s the council’s issue not yours

Unless there is a TPO on a tree or it's in a conservation area then no, owners don't need permission. Even if it is they have to seek permission from the local authority not the neighbours (I'm not sure if the LA consult the neighbours or not).

I don’t know about the law in the UK but it is common in other countries that trees over a certain age are protected and can’t be felled without a permit from the council.

Yup. They should also ask anyone who can see into their house what decor they prefer. Also if fhey need to paint the outside of their house or landscape the front they should go to public consultation to anyone who has to drive past and look at it😂

On a serious note, of course not.

Do you know why they felled the trees? They could have been rotten / diseased or causing issues to their property.

As they say - never buy a property for the view unless you own it!

@MiddlesexGirl

I'm with you OP in principle if not in practice. So so sad when healthy unproblematic beautiful trees are just scythed down.

How do you know if they were healthy and unproblematic. Even the op doesn’t know that. It’s very rare someone spends what will be thousands of pounds to cut down a ninety foot tree without good reason.

I agree OP. Our neighbours cut many of their large trees this spring - during the nesting season. Where I come from you need a permit from the council to cut trees over a certain size, even if they are on your own land, and it's against the law to fell any trees between February and late September at all.

Neighborhood consultation 😂😂

@LittleBearPad

And even if it did - that’s the council’s issue not yours

Well no. The whole point of TPOs is to protect trees for the benefit of the local community so yes it is exactly the OP's issue!

Nope. I have some very tall trees at the back of my garden and they are having a couple of meters lopped off soon, will only tell the side neighbours in case we need to go clear up any off cuts from their garden. Not telling the neighbours behind us as it's nothing to do with them.

I'm not really asking about the local authority rules on this, more just the morality of the issue or if it was the polite thing to do?

The trees seemed pretty healthy, plenty of leaves and everything. I assume it was a light issue for other neighbors

No. Some trees have a tree protection order which prevents them being cut down. Fair enough. I think more should be done to encourage tree growing in appropriate locations, and possibly more trees should have a TPO.

But no I don’t think you should be able to hold your neighbours hostage/force your neighbours to have trees (which were potentially cut down due to disease, causing damage, extreme shadowing etc) just so you in your third floor flat can pretend you live in a treehouse. Even planning permission doesn’t require all your neighbours to agree, it just gives them the right to comment. “Loss of a view” is not normally considered a material issue for planning. And presumably you have gained light so again it wouldn’t be considered a material complaint for planners.

I feel exactly the same about the people who own the flat opposite mine. They have painted the room a hideous colour, removed the original picture rail and traditional light fitting. They have put up the most ugly office type blinds but they leave them open so we can all see it.

I agree there should be some sort of process for everyone who lives on the street to vote on these kind of changes.

YABU.

I had to cut a tree of that size down in my garden. I really didn’t want to but it had been left to grow unchecked by previous owners and had some rotting/disease. I could have caused massive damage to ours and our neighbours houses had it fallen in a storm or wind.

We told our neighbours that the tree was going (as it’s a noisy job) but by no means did we ask permission. Assumed they’d rather have no tree than a branch through their roof in a storm.

I think most people are responsible and down cut them down on a whim. It’s extremely expensive for a start!

Exactly that @Bluntness100 , it costs a lot of money to have a large tree taken down. They would have their reasons to remove their tree. If you would like a big tree, buy a place with a big tree in the garden or move to somewhere rural next to a forest!