Neighbour wants tree cut down

[HimalyanSilverBirch]

Hello,

I'd appreciate some thoughts on a dispute with my neighbour.

I have a silver birch in my garden that is next to the boundary.

My neighbour wants us to cut this down because they don't like the mess caused by falling seeds/leaves and because of the risk the roots may cause their newly laid (and presumably very expensive) patio which is right next to the boundary.

For reference we are in a conservation area and the removal of the tree would require planning permission as the diameter is over 7.5cm at a height of 1.5m (though only just). The tree trunk is thus relatively slender and the height is roughly that of a two story house but the canopy is not large.

Unfortunately, the conversion got quite heated/ugly (and ended up with them throwing their sweepings over the fence).

I'll admit I don't want to lose the tree as it is really lovely, but having a look on google birches do have shallow roots that can cause problems to patios.

So where I am at is that I'm loathe to cut down the tree but equally I'm conscious about potential damage to the neighbours property that I might become liable for (the fact you have to sweep up leaves I don't believe to be relevant).

It's also probably worth mentioning that if the roots were a problem I'm unsure why this wasn't raised by the professionals who installed the patio.

As a final point they said they had to declare the tree on their house insurance so potentially the motivation here is the impact on the premium (the tree was in situ when they bought the property).

I don't want to fall out with neighbours (though that ship might have sailed) so what next?

I looked at the council website and they don't engage re: private tree disputes.

So I'm a bit unsure of what to do next and am I BU by not agreeing to cut down the tree.

Has anybody been in a similar situation?

Neighbour's trees having to be declared on your house insurance? That seems weird. My neighbour has trees all along his boundary but we've never been asked about them. The closest is about a metre from the side of our house.
Keep your lovely tree. Trees are valuable in all kinds of ways.

I'll admit this is my concern.

I don't want this to escalate but I'm also unwilling to cut down a lovely tree for no good reason.

I'm trying to be pragmatic about it but I'll admit their attitude (especially the pettiness of throwing the seeds over the fence) made me more inclined to dig my heels in - which I am trying to resist doing - hence trying to get an independent perspective here.

Do you have legal cover on your home insurance OP? If so give them a call, just for advice.

Out of curiosity, how far away from the trunk is their house, do you think?

Honestly, this makes me just hate people. If the roots damage their newly laid patio then they should have thought about that before having the work done.

I'd also consider having a camera on your lovely tree; it's not that uncommon for trees under dispute to be drilled into and poisoned. Sadly this has happened to a beautiful tree near me.

Try and get a TPO if you can 😂

Oh that's an idea I hadn't thought of - thank you.

Well prepare for a legal battle. If you’re sure you will win, crack on but I can’t see you winning if the tree is trespassing their land and causing damage. I can’t see the law saying this is okay.

3 meters.

The proximity isn't ideal (we didn't plant it).

It is their land though, I just looked at the RHS site and it says you can cut back the roots but you will be responsible if it damages the tree so it is complicated.

See this makes me hate people. A massive tree that can grow to 50 foot is planted 9 foot from someone’s house. And you couldn’t even be bothered reading rhe ops posts.

It's not causing any damage.

They want it removed in cases it causes damage in the future.

I'm not sure trespass is an issue if there is no damage but happy to be corrected.

Not your problem :) just ignore them

It sounds like a very young tree, the council have just planted some silver birch on a site near me and they sound bigger than your tree. Could you move the tree? The ones that have been planted her are doing well six weeks after planting and are now covered in leaves.

We had a neighbour who built an extension and then demanded we fell a little birch. Then he demanded we fell all trees on our boundary, then he put in overlooking windows in his extension without planning permission, then we caught him in the tree starting to hack it down without permission, then he started demanding we lower a fence which is our boundary. Then the council told us they wouldn't enforce removing the windows specifically because we had the option to mitigate oversight with 'vegetation'.

Twats are twats, and our neighbour wasn't going to leave us alone until we made it very clear we would be reporting any issues. We are raising the fence and planting more trees.

I wouldn’t be rushing to cut a healthy tree down but I would ensure that the branches aren’t protruding over their fence.

Have a look at the RHS site, they say the neighbours can cut the roots back.

If you ever wish to sell, you’ll have to declare a dispute to buyers.
The tree is 1.7m? Doesn’t seem huge, is it really the mess or is it the shade it throws?

For an easy life I would say they can get rid of the tree at their expense, including taking the tree away.

Then get a conifer in. Joke!

Have a look at the RHS site, they say the neighbours can cut the roots back.

Not that simple in a conservation area as they risk a substantial fine if they kill the tree doing this.

It's not a formal dispute as such as there is no legal/council intervention.

They have cited the seeds dropping that they have to clear, the potential the patio will be damaged and having to declare the proximity of their home insurance.

I'm not sure if any of these is more weighty than the others.

Not yet.

If they chose to build a patio after the tree had become established, I don't see how they would have a claim against you if it becomes damaged. It's a classic case of agreeing to the risk.

Check out whether there is a tree preservation order in place, and/or how to get one.

We are in the midst of this and it’s honestly NOT a big deal. Everyone saying it’s going to be this and that and cost a fortune and being dramatic - it’s honestly not

Neighbours contacted their insurance company accusing our tree of causing damage. Insurance company instructed a subcontractor to put together a big threatening, scary pack of info which we sent straight to our insurance company legal department who are v E r y slowly dealing with it. No one is getting excited. We’ve agreed to remove the tree if they pay and agree the costs to replant. There’s no big court action. No Daily Mail story.

it sounds as though you’re anxious OP and for that reason alone I’d advise you just get rid of it. All you’re going to do is worry yourself into an early grave. If it’s still pretty small then you can remove and replant with something shallow rooted.

This is why trees should never be on boundaries. Silver birches are lovely trees and we planted 5 of them two years ago. But nowhere near our neighbour.. if I had one on the boundary I would take it down. My elderly mum's neighbour has one, and it drops SO many twigs, leaves and seeds on her garden. It's so frustrating as we spent a fortune and a lot of time to make her garden maintenance and hazard free.

I asked my DF (keen gardener) if the tree could be moved.

He said it's a big job and most likely the tree will die anyway.

“It's not a formal dispute as such as there is no legal/council intervention.”
Yet - by the sounds of it.

Our neighbour accidentally killed our apple tree- and yes it was an accident as we wanted to remove it (it’s ours) but he got very worked up about it so we left it alone. He put a few nails in it to attach his fence and it’s died. He blames us, but still wants to keep the tree. It’s now dead and looks awful.

Neighbours and trees- always cause issues.