Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Massive trees close to your house

12 replies

Primtemps · 06/04/2022 23:01

Do you have large/old trees close to your house and does it worry you after the recent storms?
I live in a town with some huge trees next to some lovely period properties, but not sure how I'd sleep in high winds if one falling the wrong way could potentially take out part of the house.....

OP posts:
blacksax · 06/04/2022 23:09

What's the answer - chop all the trees down?

user1497207191 · 06/04/2022 23:12

@blacksax

What's the answer - chop all the trees down?
The answer is for property owners to get tree surgeons to lop and manage them periodically,not just ignore them and wait for limbs to crash down or the tree to fall over, damaging nearby properties.
Dynamicsloth · 06/04/2022 23:15

I live in a street with period properties and large old trees. There are loads of tall trees in streets in my area. As long as trees are checked and maintained/trimmed every now and then they are generally pretty safe.

TulipsGarden · 06/04/2022 23:16

Yes we do, yes it does, but it's not on our property and I would hate to lose it as it's a beautiful tree and gives our garden lovely shade. It's on council land in managed woodland so I assume they're keeping an eye on it.

So I do worry, but the benefits outweigh a few a few days of worry a year.

eurochick · 06/04/2022 23:24

Yep. And Storm Eunice brought one down. Luckily it didn't hit the house. We'd only been here a few months and hadn't got the tree surgeon out yet. I suspect they will become fairly regular visitors here!

hippyfarmer · 06/04/2022 23:35

Yes - tree removal of the most potentially destructive is paramount. This as someone who lives surrounded by trees that tower and are less than 10 ft from foundation. Forests on 3 sides. Finally, after some heavy storms last year, had several removed. Yes, if the remainder ever do topple, we will be impacted severely. But I'm pruning back based on foundation impact now. We will never get to the point that the looming trees don't have an impact if they are felled. But, we can try to minimize the damage so that it is structural and not likely to kill us.

And I wouldn't trade the location for anything. In the forest. Have 18 species visiting the bird feeders daily (not the ones elsewhere or on the ground). Have the wildlife we love. And, rural and mostly private.

hippyfarmer · 06/04/2022 23:39

Will admit to removing a tree on new property bought in San Francisco once. Tree was overhanging neighbors property and deck and house. The arborists stated it was in very bad way so we removed it. Neighbors raised an uproar. But they didn't care that it was their property in jeopardy (too far from our house), but that it was a tree. Maybe they wanted it to crash into their deck / house and sue us. Don't know. Don't care. Arborists said that it was diseased and a massive risk.

FloraPostePosts · 06/04/2022 23:39

We used to have a huge mature tree in the garden of our previous house, and spent money having an inspection and management every year - it wouldn’t have fallen on the house, but out onto the road behind, and that really did worry me.

You can manage the risk well if you are willing to have someone qualified look at it regularly and do any work needed. They will even apply for the relevant consent if the tree has a TPO.

blacksax · 06/04/2022 23:43

@user1497207191 The answer isn't as simple as that. The OP lives in a town with mature trees near period properties. Chances are that many of those old trees are protected by a TPO or are in a conservation area. As they should be. You can't just go chopping away whenever you feel like it.

You don't have to wait 500 years to rebuild a house.

MintJulia · 06/04/2022 23:46

Do a bit of research. It may help to find out what types of trees.

Oaks trees have a root system under ground that is as big as the tree you can see above ground so they seldom blow over. They do, however, shed a branch or two so better not to park under them.

Ash trees are flexible and their roots can spread 50 metres, so pretty secure. Chesnut and beech trees less so. Regular maintenance is a good idea.

user1497207191 · 06/04/2022 23:50

[quote blacksax]@user1497207191 The answer isn't as simple as that. The OP lives in a town with mature trees near period properties. Chances are that many of those old trees are protected by a TPO or are in a conservation area. As they should be. You can't just go chopping away whenever you feel like it.

You don't have to wait 500 years to rebuild a house.[/quote]
You can apply to lop TPO trees with a tree surgeon report/recommendation if there are legitimate reasons, I.e. damaging property, damaged limbs/branches, diseased tree, etc.

Original poster
Primtemps · 07/04/2022 08:22

Yes there are a lot of TPOs on trees here.
In some cases, cutting them down would be the only way to make safe - but would.ruin the streetscape and the habitat for wildlife obv.
Chestnuts and beeches too.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page