Can my neighbour stop me doing this?

[Treeee]

we have a tree close to our house, on our side of the fence. Though the tree does spread its branches over both sides. Houses are detached and the tree is far from their house as their back garden is large. We want the tree gone as it’s too big and close to the house. We have filled in the form because although it’s not a protected tree it is in a conservation area. It says online they publish the application. Can our neighbour oppose this? What happens then?

I imagine that if it's published and comments requested, your neighbour could comment if they wanted to. But I can't imagine there would be much that they could do to complain or prevent it - it's on your property.

They could, the council can disregard it though.

Doesn't mean the council will object to you removing it.

My next door neighbour had to get 2 trees removed from her garden before an insurance company would insurance her property.

Has your neighbour actually said anything to you to make you think they would complain?

@Crumpleton no but they are very against trees being cut down. They had a row with another neighbour about another tree.

like with any changes to your property - your neighbour would have to provide a very clear justification of WHY they object and the council would then consider the valididty of that. Like the hilarious objection a friend had to her extension - a neighbour a few houses down was concerned that it would "overlook" her house and disrupt her privacy. The council actually sent someone round... you practically need binoculours to see the neighbour's house from theirs AND the side that was supposedly obstructing her privacy... there were no windows planned. Council rejected the complaint.

I can’t imagine your neighbour would have a valid reason for not cutting down the tree. Unless it would impact them directly- such as you now being able to peer into their house - or they can prove it has historical value (for example), then I doubt the council would side against you.

They can oppose it but the tree officer will take all evidence into account. They might recommend crown reducing it as one option so be prepared for that. It happened to my neighbour and he had to reduce 3 trees instead of removing them.

@MsFaversham how would crown reducing stop the roots potentially affecting the house? Which is our worry

Do they have their own trees?

I think they can comment and can argue it, but the council don't need to listen to them.

@Treeee - difficult to get a tree removed inside a conservation area unless it’s a non-native British tree.

Suggest you get an arborist in to check if the tree roots would damage your property - if yes then send the report with your request to the Council

It restricts root growth I believe. They will talk you through everything so you’ll have a chance to ask questions.

I had a big tree in previous property with a TPO on it.

Drove us nuts but I was told that if we could cut it down, because it had been there so long (200+ years- long before the house) , if it went it could cause subsidence on the house.

So we put up with it and I believe it's still there

The council more likely to refuse in a conservation area unless it can be proved it is causing structural damage. A valid reason is the environmental talk impact.

There are things that can be done to mitigate the effect of tree roots: for example crown reduction, root pruning, root barriers, injecting resin into the ground.

You need a specialist in the science of trees and buildings, i e an arboriculturalist, to advise on the best technique or remedy for your tree. An arborist is a tree surgeon, which isn't a specialist in the effects of trees on buildings.

Subsidence is a symptom of usually clay soil shrinkage caused by the tree taking water from the soil, so the ground sinks. However removing a tree could cause heave as a result of putting too much water back into the soil, so the ground rises. Both subsidence and heave can cause damage to the building.

That's why you need an arboriculturalist to calculate the effect of the tree and the best way to avoid damage to the house.

I had a saga with trees and subsidence, involving insurance companies, surveyors, council tree officer, planning appeal etc.
Crown reduction may in some cases be the appropriate way to balance the effects, as was recommended by the arboriculturalist in my case.

We wanted to remove a number of trees at our last house, which was in a conservation area. None of the trees were causing/could cause damage to the house, but as they weren’t ‘protected’, we could cut them down. Plus, OP said this tree is/will possibly cause damage.

If you do cut it down, please do it no earlier than September to ensure nesting birds don’t have their nests destroyed.

The chances of you being given permission to cut down a tree in a conservation zone are almost nil.

i’m sure different councils handle things differently. I’ve had a tree cut down but my neighbour wasn’t able too. They will assess each on their own merit I guess.

In the conservation area here (Reading) you need council permission to cut down any tree except Leylandii or trees under 2m tall. Different councils may have different criteria.
I've no idea if neighbour objections are taken into consideration though.

A few things.

First, yes neighbours can object and will be taken seriously.

But neighbours don't make the decision. That will turn on your local authority's tree policy (if they have one) and on the choices made by their Tree Officer.

You need to decide how much you care. Are you sure it's damaging your foundations or just worried?

If you are sure - or fairly sure - you may want to submit a surveyors report with your application.

You may also need a tree expert. I can link you to the one I've used if you want.

It can get expensive (mine did).

So, if you're not THAT bothered you can just fill in the form yourself. But do it carefully - remember you're trying to persuade them it's a good idea.

Also it can help if you offer to replant a really nice tree.

I actually spoke to the council Tree Officer, several times. tbh I'm not sure it helped and it might even have done the opposite!

Finally, don't believe what you read on Mumsnet, including (maybe especially) from me. This is a very technical and complex subject. Good luck.

You can donate to the National Trust to get them to plant a tree on their land. It's about £5 per tree. You could donate to get 20 trees planted to keep good neighbourly relations. Plus it'll be great for the environment.

I'm also in a conservation area and have applied for felling.

IME the Tree Officer was very helpful and reasonable and the arborist I hired handled all the paperwork and gave a very clear rationale for the request.

However every situation is unique and a lot will depend on why you want it felled, the overall condition and species of the tree and context.

In my case it was a very large and ugly non native pine that was actually compromising the growth of the surrounding native trees.

So there were very good grounds to remove it from both an environmental and aesthetic perspective.

You asked about crown reduction. In simple terms the less mass the tree has above ground, the less roots its needs to sustain itself. So by keeping the crown maintained on a regular basis you can protect against root problems and also loss of light etc which still keeping the tree healthy.

But not good for the tenant farmers National Trust (and other major land owners) are evicting from their land in favour of tree planting due to the government subs available for poorly thought out schemes.

Beatrix Potter would be turning in her grave if she knew.

At a time where food security should be high on the agenda for a small island Its very worrying how much good arable agricultural land as well as hill farming land is being turned over to trees for some fast money for already very rich people. It's not them who will suffer when then the price of food rockets.

https://www.restoretrust.org.uk/media-and-press/national-trust-rewilding-projects-leave-tenants-feeling-pushed-out