to think my neighbour should pay half, if not the whole cost for this!

[LovingTheRain]

My neighbour knocked on the door this afternoon and told me she was getting a conservatory build onto the back of her house. She then went on to tell me that the tree in my garden is going to have to be cut down as the building guys have told her the roots will cause problems for her not yet build conservatory in years to come.

Didn't mention anything to her at the time, but since thinking about it, i think it would only be fair to ask her to pay for half, if not the whole job of having the tree removed. It's going to cost about £300!!! according to the company i called and described the tree and its size etc.

The tree is in my garden, is not dying in any way and we happen to really like it! I know i'm being selfish by not wanting it cut down but is it unreasonable to ask her to pay for it to be removed? There is no way i want to pay anything to have it removed, let alone £300.

I don't suppose there is anyway i can refuse to cut it down can I?

AIBU in asking her to pay? DH doesn't want to cause any problems and thinks we should pay for it!

[sam2cats]

Have just seen this thread.. we recently had trouble with a tree that fell on our property so was interested! If I wanted a conservatory and needed my neighbour's tree felled, I would ask nicely and offer to pay from the outset, it would be the first thing I would say. Whatever the legalities, they are your neighbours and should know that being neighbourly works both ways. Have they even considered the noise and mess you will experience while it is being built? It sounds as if your neighbour was being very presumptious. I hope they see sense and don't bother you with it again or at the very least offer to pay if they persist with their request. A chat to the council should clear matters up for you, you could also try talking to the planning dept as well as the tree guys, they may have dealt with matters like this before. Good luck!

[pingping]

she can't force you to cut it down and if you agree to have it cut down the least she can do is foot the bill

[Jux]

Excellent news, Lovingtherain.

[Blu]

Sounds good, LTR.

I would still seek a little legal advice, because if she is laying down a marker that any future root dmaage will be your liability, it may be worth sending her an official letter when the planning notice goes up, or asap if no requirment for a planning notice / letter saying that you have sought advice re the felling of the tree, the HF will not sanction it, and therefore if they go ahead it is in full knowledge that there is a tree there that cannot be felled. i.e their choice to build on it, their liability.

But I am no legal bod.

[noddyholder]

Sorry to hijack but I have a boundary prob I have posted in legal.ANY advice would be great as I need to compose a shit hot letter tomorrow TIA xxxxx

[icedgemsrock]

Has the neighbour been back since first visit? sorry can't be bothered to trawl through all 7 pages. If not let us know what she says - I am so nosey!

[TheYearOfTheCat]

Thanks for the update - glad you have some clarity regarding the situation.

[Mybox]

Good going ltr - sounds like your neighbour was just using this an excuse to get you to cut down your tree.

[Ponders]

Oh that's great news LTR, well done

[Ripeberry]

Glad you've got the letters in favour of the trees. We have some nice ones in a field accross the road from us and our neighbour applied for special preservation orders on them and it was granted.

[Ripeberry]

Tell her to sling her hook. Its your tree in your garden! She has no legal right to ask you to cut it down.
It would be like someone telling a neighbour to take down a structure (shed) in their garden as it would spoil their view.

[JeMeSouviens]

Great news, it's such a lovely tree.

[Tinker]

Excellent result. Up the Trees!

[lizziemun]

well done. I'm glad you get to keep your tree .

I would also chase the coucil until you have your letters.

[LovingTheRain]

UPDATE on the tree:

Spoken to the Heritage foundation on the phone and have had a tree surgeon round this morning.

The Heritage foundation have said there is no way they will condone the cutting down of a healthy tree and are going to sent it to me in writing.

The tree surgeon looked at the tree and the distance to the neighbours house etc etc and has said that he doesn't think the roots will cause any problem for my house or theirs for atleast 60 years

He also said that if i were have 1/3 cut down, it would need to be done every 7 years and cost £200 a time. He said it's not worth it and we should leave the tree.

He gave this to me in writing and also did a quote which i could give to the neighbour if she comes and sees me again.

So am keeping the tree (for now!!)

[Poppyanna]

Your tree, keep it if you want, don't let you neighbour push you into it. I'm sick and tied off keping tne neighbour my happy, what do they do for me.

[Blu]

I am also of a mind that she has been quite clever, and has sought legal advice...or else the builders mentioned the tree as a possible future source of difficulty and she has come to one particular conclusion.

Without taking legal advice yourself, and also advice from a tree specialist, I don't think you can make a decision.

But probably, a solicitor and tree surgeon will cost as much as cutting it down.

I wonder if your council would send a tree surgeon? or whether you can get a short advisory session with a solicitor who specialises in cases like this for a low fee?

Does she need planning permission for the conservatory? It will depend how big it is and whether it comes within her 'permitted development'. She may well need your co-operation re planning permission, and yu should think v carefully how much her conservatory would (genuinely) impinge. Will it block light, interfere with you privacy or cause other problems?

[lizziemun]

When my BIL had an extention built and they had trees within i think it was 5metres of where they were building and they were told by the planning dept that they just had to put in deeper footings/foundations. No one suggested that they get their neighbours to remove the trees from their gardens.

[belgo]

I agree with PointyDog. It seems a reasonable request from a neighbour, and my first thought was that if the roots are on her garden and are effecting her property and what she wants to do with her own property, then it's your responsibility to deal with the roots. They are your roots, in her garden, and as someone else says, that could be considered trespassing.

Trees are lovely but they are not worth souring neighbourhood relations over. After all, you have to live next door to each other.

As Pointydog says, this can surely be resolved without all the and faces by speaking like reasonable adults.

[Casserole]

I also think she's come round and approached you in the way she has because she's already taken legal advice.

You need to do the same.

[bumpsoon]

its an ash tree ,we have one about three times that size in our garden and i love it too !!

[bumpsoon]

If i were you i would ring the local council and ask to speak to their tree officer ,every council has one,and then ask their advice . They may well come out and have a look for you and be able to tell you if the tree will indeed interfere with the conservatory or house in the future .Alot depends on the tree species i imagine as some are obviousley quicker growing than others . Someone also made the point that should the builders need to dig foundations ,if the tree roots are in that vicinity ,then they will remove that part of the root system ,causeing the tree great stress and possibly damaging it irrevocably, in which case you could end up with a dangerous tree . The tree officer will also be able tell you if the tree has a TPO , if it does then they will decide if the tree can come down or not ,if it has dont touch it as you will face a massive fine . On the point of payment ,i would not be happy to foot the whole cost as the tree at present isnt causing any issues . You could ask a surveyor to come out and they will be able to tell you if the tree is causing any current problems ,if it isnt then i really dont see why you should pay. If it is ,then there is the chance you could claim via your buildings insurance i think . Good luck though as things like this are such a commen cause for neighbour wars !!

[Ponders]

That legal decision that mumofagun posted earlier here was actually against the owner of the trees:

"My neighbour has a court injunction to remove all offending foliage from the boundary, make good my slabbing and pay all of my costs, a conservative estimate is he is looking at about 12 grand, ........ ooch"

ie the owner of the trees had to pay to make good the damage they had caused - the house concerned had been built about 8 years earlier with the trees right by the boundary. (Mind you one was a cherry, said to be notorious for widespread shallow roots, & the other a willow & I believe they are notorious for sucking moisture out of the ground, so not quite like yours, LTR)

Can't tell from that anything about adding a conservatory to an existing house, but judgments obviously are made against tree owners, so specific legal advice does need to be taken here

(Agree that neighbour is extremely lacking in tact & diplomacy however )

[Aussieng]

My understanding of the law is that you own everything above and below your land and only things like civil aviation rules etc override this.

Your neighbour is entitled (within the constraints of local planning laws) to do/build whatever they want on their property. Many if not most householders will be permitted to build reasonable sized conservatories on their properties under the general (ie effectively pre-approved) planning consents.

If your trees affect your neighbour's conservatory, you are likely to be found "guilty" of nuisance and will be liable for any damage to the conservatory.

I suspect your neighbour may already have taken legal advice because, I think they have been very astute in the way in which they have approached you. They have informed you at the outset of the potential risk your tree is causing to their conservatory and given you the option to remove the tree. I believe that you are not obliged to remove the tree but if you do not do so and your tree does cause any damage, I think you will quite clearly be liable for that damage which could be very costly.

The neighbour is quite at liberty to cut any trespassing tree roots back (even if this kills the tree so long as they have not maliciously caused this end result). If your main concern is the cost, I would suggest to them that they should do this, it is then their cost to bear and you have at least advised an appropriate course of action to them which would prevent any damage and you should not be held liable if they fail to do this ie fail to take reasonable steps to mitigate the risk.

If you can't afford legal advice, I would strongly suggest that you talk to Citizen's Advice - you really do not want to ignore this and end up liable for costly building damage in years to come or have to disclose a dispute when you come to selling your house.

[FourThingsAndALizard]

Have just looked at your profile.
I think your tree is lovely.

And so is your nice clean oven. You might want to proofread the caption on that one though....