To have spent most of the day in tears over trees

[NoMoreTrees]

We moved into this house just shy of a year ago and I regretted it almost instantly. I absolutely hate it here, it has pretty much ruined my life and for the last few months my mental health has been in tatters and I’ve had some very, very dark days.

One thing I did like about the house though was that at the end of the garden, on the other side of the fence were some beautiful tall trees. Dozens of trees with hundreds of birds that you can hear singing all year round, an owl, squirrels and other wildlife. The trees ran the entire length of our row of houses and a bit further.

On the other side of the trees is a small field, and while we were having surveys etc done they brought up a planning application for a small development of 9 houses in that field, which had been rejected by the water company.

Well I’m sure you know where this is going… obviously the water company were offered more money changed their minds because before the sun was even up this morning a bunch of men in hi viz and hard hats rocked up with a chainsaw, a bulldozer and a woodchipper and one by one started tearing all the trees down. By the time they had downed tools and fucked off there was only one tree left standing at the end of our garden and one or two surviving further down… for now at least.

I just can’t stop crying. I can’t even bring myself to look out of the windows at the back of the house. All those beautiful trees, all those birds, all that wildlife, gone. It was one of the very, very few things that made living here tolerable, and now instead of trees and birdsong, there is going to be a building site. Just when I thought I couldn’t fucking hate it here more.

I feel for you @NoMoreTrees - At our old house, in a town, there were trees between the houses in our street and the next street - right on the boundary. Over the years, more and more were removed, but it didn't affect us too much because of how enclosed the gardens were.

At the top of our garden was a huge mature sycamore - it was on the boundary and due to its position, when we needed to make sure the garden was fully enclosed because of the dog we had to fence in front of it. One day a tree surgeon turned up and asked for access to our garden because it was being cut down - the neighbour wanted it out because it was making a mess of his car 🙄.

I kicked up merry hell, but unfortunately there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. I threatened to just replace it on my side of the fence and the tree surgeon knew I was deadly serious, so ended up convincing the neighbour to just have it pollarded instead - looked awful for a couple of years, but it did grow back quite quickly.

We moved out to a rural area and now have a large area of woodland that we own - we have had to cut down a lot of trees like Leylandii and have a lot of laurel to take out because the woodland hasn't been managed properly for years.

I was gutted this morning when the snow brought down a lovely mature variegated holly :-(

Ironically I can't stand bloody sycamore now - they are incredibly invasive and cause all sorts of problems for trees with much more amenity value due to the speed that they grow.

The only thing I would say from your pictures is it looks like they have mostly removed conifers and maybe sycamores - neither of which are particularly great for most wildlife.

You have two options really - if the view is what bothers you most and you want something that is fast growing and will obscure the houses beyond, you need to put in something like laurel and bamboo (clumping only), although neither of these are great for wildlife.

If you really want to encourage wildlife, look at planting something like cherry and apple / crab apple trees which are relatively fast growing, evergreen honeysuckle and jasmine to climb through that trellis and native hedge row plants like Hawthorne, Dog Rose, Willow, Hazel and Holly.

Get plenty of bird feeders and bird boxes to encourage birds to visit and nest in your garden and create 'wild flower' beds to bring in colour.

They would be able to, but lack motivation. They can probably squeeze in one more 'home' if the trees are gone. They sell houses, not 'homes'; manipulative sentimental tripe.
The amount of retrospective planning going on is shocking.

It's very rarely I'm moved by posts on here but that is absolutely tragic. I'm so sorry op for you and the wildlife, how awful.

Every part of yew tree is extrmely toxic- the bark the needles the berries, and the toxin goes through the skin if someone handles branches. Yew trees were used hy the aristocrats back in the day to kill poor peoples horses grazing on their land

Not conifers, they don't support wildlife. Plant native trees, if space/time is an issue, consider apple trees, particularly some of the rare species.

Can you get preservation orders on the remaining trees?

Absolutely 100% NOT unreasonable. What is it you hate about the house? I lived somewhere I hated and managed to find ways to like it before we eventually had to move anyway. I know how you feel though. It's awful when the one place meant to be a sanctuary feels anything but

Get some conifers in, or if you can afford it trees that are already grown/semi established (I’m not a gardener either!) Go on the gardening board and they’ll help you there.
I’d consider a water feature, bird tables, feed the birds. I have no idea what plants /fruits you could put in to attract birds/wildlife but others will.
I have bird tables and water features, keep them clean and filled and life will return.
I’d be devastated too but you can salvage this.

https://www.wykehammatureplants.co.uk/product-category/screening/evergreen-screening/

Like this ^

Don't make a hasty decision; find out what will grow well where you are, and always lean toward native species.

I’m (genuinely) curious as to what makes you think they are yew? I would lay money on them being a mix of Leyland and Lawson cypress- based on the form, and the crown in particular. In other words - farm “shelterbelt” planting.

Given that they have felled the (low bio-diversity value) fast growing conifers, and retained the (presumably native, high bio-diversity value) deciduous trees, I suspect that’s not needed.

Just trees? Really? Do you know how much wildlife lives in trees? Just trees.........I despair.

Can"t see the population expanding much more TBH, the political winds have changed big time, the expansion is from immigration not births, sales of new-build houses are down 60% already. I had a recent experience of a patch of natural land and trees being cut back and it feels like a loss, I think in this case though it will be allowed to grow back, there is no development planned, so sorry OP that you feel bad about this, just move if you can and the area is making you sad.

Sycamores are not garden trees. They are field trees and thugs. Only an idiot would plant leylandii! Plant deciduous English trees. These trees could have been unsafe of course but no tpo and they can be cut down.

There is a small wooded area between my village and the one next door. 100s of mature tall evergreen trees . I walked my dogs though it at least once a day for the last 10 years then 3 years ago the council pulled out 50% of the trees. It was devastating . It was such a lovely walk and the trees that are left are pitiful by comparison to what was there. I complained and got a pathetic response - evergreens are a crop plants out in to make out props for the mines and to promote biodiversity (deciduous wooodland top trumps none native trees). The machinery they used literally pulled them out a tree every few minutes. There was nothing we could do but watch. For months there was silt on the main road and the drains flooded as a result. Many arseholes fly tipped and dumped rubbish in the massive gaps that were left. There was a footpath that went through that is impassable . The machinery left massive holes in the ground due to its size and the hollows left where the tree roots were literally plucked out. They did this in winter so these were filled with water then in summer they baked dry. I am upset just thinking about it now. I loved those trees and nothing was improved. I am sure as well as the cost of felling the trees it must have cost 1000s to sort out the drains. What sure of idiots allow this ?

Going through something similar except with DD’s primary headteacher. The last one was like a mum to every pupil and their parents, she was wonderful, warm & caring. Well, she retired and now we have the very antithesis of her who refuses to acknowledge an autism diagnosis without an EHCP and has a total, cold, uncaring attitude. Just awful. We’re all grieving for what was.

YANBU go feel upset over it.
I would be so upset too!

What are the other reasons you hate it there?

There must be some positives about the home or area?

@NoMoreTreeshttps://www.wykehammatureplants.co.uk/product-category/mature-trees/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=8920439249&gbraid=0AAAAACgl3pI0xpvrvoXvD8NjR4mxM1U1P&gclid=CjwKCAiA64LLBhBhEiwA-PxguxahpbKF5oMDx1uPH3nghSB8shxBT_-V21LPlFUN9ICcPBm4D5SPoxoCrYEQAvD_BwE

Not Leylandii; they are sterile. It seems a barrier is not the main issue.....op talks about wildlife. Tears are for loss of habitat.

Yanbu

It happened near my parents too, not within immediate sight of their house thankfully, but just five minutes away.

You used to have a panoramic view of an important landmark.... Now it's just detached brick monstrosities.

I'd be devastated. What they've done is awful and I'd be in tears too. As well as furious.

But agree with PP, get planting! We planted a native hedge from whips about 4 years ago and some of them are now about 4m high and the birds absolutely love it.

I've had the same happen in the past and I know exactly how you feel.

I live on a housing estate in Ipswich with a public footpath adjacent to my back garden that used to be lined with trees. So many birds, squirrels etc. lived in them. I loved it.

I woke up one morning to see the council randomly removing all of them. No warning, no opportunity to push back, nothing.

It wasn't just removing them that upset me - it was the violence that the council staff did it, with their massive wood chipper, and the brutal mess they left of what remains of the trees in the ground.

I hope one day those council staff experience the same thing as the birds and the squirrels when they return home to a house that has been demolished.

Im so sorry. I would be devastated too.
I had similar at rhe end of our garden with the railway embankment being stripped. I was sad for months.

Oh, I'm sorry. I would be so upset too. Was there not a TPO on them do you know? Not that it matters now and they just do want they want anyway. It's all about money.