Neighbour has massacred my 30+yr old Acer with no warning

[FormidableMizzP]

My neighbour has hacked back my 4m high Acer beyond her boundary and at least 1ft into my garden. The branches are bluntly cut, not slanted, ragged, and the bark has been torn on all the cut branches. This tree is badly damaged, to replace it would cost around £5,000.

AIBU to seek legal advice and action?

For context: I'd always got on with my older neighbours (their grandson was a bit younger than my kids so they doted on mine too) until the husband Kent got Alzheimers then died 7yrs ago. We've shared a boundary for 20yrs, which is Kent and Jenny's responsibility, but Jenny now seems to believe her boundary is about 1ft into my garden yet expects me to keep her shrubs tidy.

Since then their adult daughter Maddie (my age) who I'd never even seen in 13+yrs started coming around more. But her and her husband Geoff were instantly hostile - I truly have absolutely no idea why as I'd always been very helpful and friendly with both Kent and Jenny.

There's a hedge in their garden at the front of their house. It's at the edge of my drive but entirely in their garden. Maddie and Geoff, after Kent died, decided that it was my responsibility to cut their hedge, which Kent had always maintained and insisted was his responsibility (for 13+yrs for me and at least 5yrs for the previous neighbour). Geoff was especially hostile and took my wheelie bin to dispose of the trimmings - usually I wouldn't mind and Kent did use it but he did always ask - Geoff did not he was extremely aggressive. He said because their bin was full, as their empty bin rumbled around the corner into view 😂

We share a fence at the back which I helped Jenny and Kent pay for 50/50 and she asked me to arrange, which I did, as I had a guy installing other fencing for me and her's was falling into my garden.

She has planted about 30 shrubs up against the fence, about 60ft long, which constantly grow over into my garden and her attitude has always been that I can cut back anything that grows over 😤. I only have 1 beautiful Acer which came with the garden and from aerial photos I have it's been in the garden at least 30yrs. It has been planted closer to the fence than it should but I've always trimmed it back every couple of years including anything that grows into Jenny's garden.

Yesterday I trimmed some lower branches of the Acer but my shoulder was hurting so I decided to finish off today after an appointment. I did see Geoff in her garden mowing earlier, but I came home to a totally butchered tree. The cuts are blunt, ragged and the bark is ripped on most of the branches and it's been cut at least 1 foot into my garden, not to her boundary line. The height has also been reduced by the genius Geoff by at least 2 feet on stems that are wholly in my garden.

There's other petty stuff that's happened as Jenny seems incapable of just speaking to me about things anymore, she sneaks across my drive under my kitchen window appearing at the door to rant and rave. Have had to close the door on her a few times in the past 3yrs, so we don't speak anymore as I prefer to put things in writing to reduce misunderstandings and avoid the ranting, but this seems to offend her. I feel I can explain it to her but cannot understand it for her. It's all become so exasperating.

This is the last straw. I am getting professional advice tomorrow from a tree surgeon I've hired before, but want to take legal action against her because I've had enough. Otherwise what will it be next?

I realise this is a first world problem but I can't afford any holidays for the forseeable, so my garden is my pride, joy and solace. Any advice would be much appreciated 🙏

They haven’t done anything illegal
Shame they didn’t talk to you first but in reality they may think you knew it was in their garden so maybe they think why didn’t you cut it back.
Reacting like this suggests they’d had enough

Do you remember this news item ( not the only one btw )

A thirty year old Acer is a bit more than a ‘nice tree’. It’s likely to be worth in the tens of thousands. It may survive but it will never grow back the same, and it’s not just a question of 1ft - it’s been trimmed 1ft inside OP’s boundary and the height has been reduced by cutting upright stems from well inside the boundary. I think OP is well within her rights to take action, if only to teach them that they can’t get away with this.

Have you spoken to your neighbour about cutting their shrubs back in the past 20 years.
Maybe they feel aggrieved if you haven’t

even if you’ve kept within your boundary it sounds like your neighbour isn’t happy

Maybe. Just maybe, you, Jenny and one of her children need to sit down with some
mugs of tea, a packet of custard creams and a sketch of the gardens and talk about who looks after what, where the boundaries what people are concerned about and how things will work going forward. And write it up together.

How do you confirm boundary lines in the UK?

To be honest OP a picture might help. What you describe sounds like borderline criminal damage

So sorry OP, this is very upsetting.
I hope that your tree will recover. Perhaps a good tree surgeon could cut the branches properly so what remains can flourish.
It's hard to know what is driving this aggressive behaviour. I guess you can either get legal advice or be careful not to trigger any more of it - though you shouldn't have to.

A solicitor’s letter is meaningless unless you truly plan to follow through with action.

I’ve found gardenlaw.co.uk a very helpful advice forum. Good luck, OP.

There’s usually a plan on the deeds which are visible on the Land Registry, and the owners generally have a copy.

The property is marked in red, and there may be a comment to say the fence to the right is the responsibility of No 17.

Then the op can carry round the branches when the neighbours have guests.

By using a boundary surveyor
If there’s a disagreement about the location of a boundary

Owner 1 gets a boundary surveyor to assess the location of the boundary and asks neighbour owner 2 if they are happy
If owner 2 isn’t happy they then get a different boundary surveyor to assess it
If boundary surveyor 1 and 2 do not agree then a third boundary surveyor is brought on board to mediate and decide where the boundary is

Neither owner is allowed to show or tell the boundary surveyors what they think. The boundary surveyors must act independent of each other and without undue influence from the owners

First job is a tree surgeon to help save it and balance the look on the other sides. Second job is a solicitor's letter. Third job is a 6 foot fence.

I think lots of people on here aren’t aware of the cost of replacing fully grown trees or the laws around damaging them. You should contact a proper arborist to assess and write a report and if your tree survives, get a Tree Protection Order put on it, and make them aware that damage to the tree can then result in fines up to £20k

Either with a signed boundary agreement between parties, or via independent judgement with input from a specialist boundary surveyor.

So-called boundary features (such as fences), and Land Registry boundary maps, are legally generally indicative and not definitively physically precise. This is why no house insurance legal cover will go near the issue...

In practice, boundaries operate on goodwill, on both sides.

I've two forty year old acers and know how irreplaceable they would be.My garden would be changed forever if cut back in the manner you describe.
I think you should get the advice of the tree surgeon, ask for a report from then and send the neighbours a legal letter outlining the extent of the damage and requesting that they never damage your property again.

That's not how tree protection orders work 🙄

Just what I was thinking. Diminished mental capacity.

YANBU for being upset, but if you cannot afford holidays you cannot afford legal action.

There’s no point at all in getting a solicitors letter if you don’t plan to follow through with anything. Neighbour disputes almost always spiral out of control in terms of legal costs and one issue leads to another. I’m sorry that your tree has been damaged but I think any lawyer (who wasn’t trying to get your money) would advise you to try to solve the dispute informally.

I hope you haven't used their real names?

If it does survive, the shape will be ruined. It sounds like it's a mature specimen tree, and that's valuable. It's not just a question of still being alive.

As a gardener, I'd be furious, and quite heartbroken.

Sounds like it's been cut with an electric hedge trimmer. From what I've seen they rip, not cut.

Really? My mother just got a tree protection order put on a magnolia in her garden last month. That’s exactly how she did it’s she got a tree survey then she wrote to the council and they came out.

That's how it works here too.

Really....?! We have one that we've had since 2005. I wonder how much it's worth? Why are they so expensive?! I'm sure ours was only about £20 when we got it!

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