neighbour's very large trees

[24hourM0MMY]

We have a southwest facing garden, but our neighbours on one side and directly behind us have GIANT trees which block out so much light in the summer that we need to have the lights on during the day. Also we get no sunlight in the garden so the lawn suffers and it also means I probably won't grow much of anything (was hoping to grow a veg patch this summer). We bought this house a year ago, but don't know the neighbours at all really. There is one particular tree in a neighbours garden that if removed, would probably alleviate a lot of our light issues. This neighbour has another quite large tree in their garden so we wouldn't be asking them to get rid of all their foliage or anything, they'd still have that. Would it be entirely unreasonable to ask them if they'd be willing to lose the tree? We'd pay for the removal. I'm just wondering if it's out of order to even ask. By the way, we live in an area where there are no restrictions on tree removal so it wouldn't be a conservation issue or anything, just our neighbour's discretion.

No harm in asking. They might be more than happy to lose the tree but not have the funds available to do it themselves.

We have 3 trees like this but, much as we'd like to get rid of them, there are 1001 other more pressing expenses.

P.s. Even if hey say no, the lawn needn't be an issue. You can get special grass seed mixes designed for very shady areas.

Definitely worth asking, & if they say no to cutting it right down, maybe it could be lopped?

Thanks for your replies, i'll ask them, hopefully they agree!

Would it be worth asking a tree surgeon to take a look from your side so you could approach your neighbours with some hard facts? We've just had the height reduced of some very large trees in our garden and it cost hundreds of pounds (apparently the insurance for tree surgeons is, understandably, very high which adds to their costs). Our neighbour was so delighted I was really embarrassed to think how much they must have annoyed him! If you could say to your neighbour, it would cost £300 or whatever to remove the tree, but we are prepared to pay/split the costs, they might bite your hand off.

A tree surgeon might also be able to confirm that the tree(s) might benefit from having their canopies lowered (I know all the jargon now!) so it would be a good thing for their future wellbeing etc. Or he may even be able to point out that they are dangerous and a potential liability for your neighbours!!