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Original poster

Huge tree in neighbours garden putting our garden in shade

119 replies

LillyLeaf · 30/05/2021 15:55

Just wandering people's thoughts on this. We recently moved and have a lovely garden which is mostly in shade from about 1pm onwards due to the neighbours enormous tree that is right next to our wall, if it wasn't so big we would have sun for the rest of the day. The tree overhangs our garden a lot which doesn't help either. I'm all for trees in the garden but this one is massive, bigger than a house. I'm hoping to grow fruit and veg next year but not sure I can with it being so shaded. We had big trees in our previous garden that we got a tree surgeon to prune so they never got too big.

My question is would it be rude to ask them to cut it back a bit (quite a bit actually) or even pay halves for a tree surgeon. Is this rude? They are not next door neighbours but their garden is at the end of ours.

What would you do?

OP posts:
Flaunch · 30/05/2021 15:56

Presumably the tree was there what you viewed the house?

You can ask them If they would consider doing something about it but you have no right to expect it. The tree was there first.

Mydarlingmyhamburger · 30/05/2021 15:57

It’s not rude to ask

Ostryga · 30/05/2021 15:57

Did you not notice the tree when you viewed the house?

FionnulaTheCooler · 30/05/2021 15:59

You can trim the bits overhanging your garden to take it back within their own boundary.

HeartZone · 30/05/2021 16:01

Following

SmallPrawnEnergy · 30/05/2021 16:02

You’re perfectly within your rights to trim overhanging branches, but I’d be annoyed if you asked me to trim it down. The tree has obviously been there for many many years and you’ve just moved in, you must have saw it when you moved? Or did you just think your human presence is more important than nature?

Wombats12 · 30/05/2021 16:03

You moved in knowing the tree was there.

I've just watched my very lovely neighbour being bullied to cut her trees back as new neighbours are objecting. They're quite happy to massacre a beautiful tree for their own interests. Been sad to watch as they cut the trees in nesting season, with a nest visible.

My other neighbours have a sycamore, which has took off & now my greenhouse is in total shade.

However, if the tree overhangs your garden, you are entitled to cut it back. Maybe do it over a couple of years if the tree would be harmed by the cutting back, if you care.

Tree surgeons are expensive, so they might welcome some cutting back. That said, if you cut it back, it might grow even more...

Yiu really should have picked a different house if a veg garden was a high priority.

purplesequins · 30/05/2021 16:05

you can ask, but if it's s big tree it might have a preservation order.
in that case you wouldn't even be allowed to take off overhanging branches without permission.
imo the tree was there before you, you will just have to live with it.

purplesequins · 30/05/2021 16:06

However, if the tree overhangs your garden, you are entitled to cut it back.

not if the tree has a tpo

Cuntryhouse · 30/05/2021 16:08

If you are my neighbour then I'd really appreciate you paying half. Our tree is huge and we can't afford to tackle it any time in the near future.

UrbanRambler · 30/05/2021 16:08

I feel your pain OP, we are in a similar position with nearby trees. There''s nothing wrong in politely asking them how they feel about having the tree cut back, but be prepared for resistance as many people with large trees in their gardens seem to have an attitude that if the tree is on the north border of their garden and does not shade their own garden, they are happy to let it grow as large as it likes, to provide privacy for them. Or they may be tree hugger types, who will give you a lecture about all the wildlife benefits of a large tree.

We paid to have a neighbour's large oak tree cut back, as she was happy to have the work done but pleaded poverty (I think she was being a bit crafty - she realised how much it affected our light levels). Good luck OP.

LemonMuffins · 30/05/2021 16:10

By all means ask, but I wouldn't be hacking at a lovely big tree to satisfy your sun needs, no. If you're allowed to trim the overhanging branches then go ahead, but presumably the tree was in residence before you were.

blacksax · 30/05/2021 16:13

Oh come on. The tree was there already and you would have known that before you moved in. What do you want to do? Butcher the half that is over your garden to make it all lopsided and look utterly shit, and possibly unbalance it and introduce disease, so that you end up killing it?

Yes, well done - what a brilliant idea. I'm sure if it were my tree I would absolutely love it if my brand new neighbours came round and suggested that. Hmm

Raggletagglegypsy · 30/05/2021 16:13

@Wombats12 Been sad to watch as they cut the trees in nesting season, with a nest visible.
That was a wildlife crime and could have been reported to the police.

EastWestWhosBest · 30/05/2021 16:15

I’m guessing it didn’t spring up between you viewing the house and buying it. The tree and the neighbour were there first.

My garden has lots of trees. If a neighbour asked then I’d consider cutting it back if they paid something towards it. Last time I had the trees done it cost £1k.

EastWestWhosBest · 30/05/2021 16:17

@UrbanRambler

I feel your pain OP, we are in a similar position with nearby trees. There''s nothing wrong in politely asking them how they feel about having the tree cut back, but be prepared for resistance as many people with large trees in their gardens seem to have an attitude that if the tree is on the north border of their garden and does not shade their own garden, they are happy to let it grow as large as it likes, to provide privacy for them. Or they may be tree hugger types, who will give you a lecture about all the wildlife benefits of a large tree.

We paid to have a neighbour's large oak tree cut back, as she was happy to have the work done but pleaded poverty (I think she was being a bit crafty - she realised how much it affected our light levels). Good luck OP.

‘Tree hugger types’. Really. Sorry but the 90s called and wants you back. What a horrid attitude to people who care about the environment.
MrsTerryPratchett · 30/05/2021 16:21

Sorry but the 90s called and wants you back.

How old are you? Many of us were in the environmental movement way before the 90s! Hating trees is really more a 1090s issue.

Ducksurprise · 30/05/2021 16:22

Firstly offer to pay. Maybe half but probably all of it, and also to wait until nesting season is over, a hard cut back in Sept or Feb would be preferable but if it has a tpo you have no hope.

I sort of get you, as in I couldn't live with a tree blocking the sunlight, but I would never move to a garden where the sun was obscured . In fact we live in a less than suitable house because the garden has sun from dawn to dusk (granted I have to haul myself around the patio at certain points of the day) and despite finding wonderful houses that would work for us I'm not willing to sacrifice the sun.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 30/05/2021 16:23

You should've thought about it when you viewed the house. If I sound snippy, it's because I bought a house with two lovely big trees in the garden which had obviously been there when the houses were built; when the house next door sold, the first time my new neighbour deigned to appear friendly it was to ask me to cut them down. He's long gone, the trees are still here.

So basically: you want a garden with full sun? You should've bought one.

EastWestWhosBest · 30/05/2021 16:24

@MrsTerryPratchett

Sorry but the 90s called and wants you back.

How old are you? Many of us were in the environmental movement way before the 90s! Hating trees is really more a 1090s issue.

I was referring to the term ‘tree huggers’ which was used as a derogatory term in the 90s press quite frequently.

Either way, sneering at someone who doesn’t want to cut down trees is very short sighted.

MaMelon · 30/05/2021 16:27

You have the right to ask and she has the right to say no, you knew it was here when you bought the house. You definitely have the right to cut it back to your boundary but for the sake of neighbourly relations I’d suggest giving her advance notice.

ab21 · 30/05/2021 16:30

We have some tall trees on our boundary that are much nearer our neighbour's house than ours. We had them thinned by a tree surgeon to let more light into the neighbour's garden as it was the neighbourly thing to do and they'd mentioned that it concerned them. It doesn't mean decimating or destroying them, they are still healthy and growing.

Equally we've both paid for tree surgeons to remove overhanging branches and general thinning on our own sides, while asking permission first. If my neighbour wanted to pay for a tree surgeon to thin any of our trees, that would also be fine with me (subject to agreeing the scale of cutting first).

I would raise the subject first and they may well be willing to pay for the cost or go halves. If not, it wouldn't be impolite to ask if they'd mind you paying for their tree to be thinned.

idril · 30/05/2021 16:33

Just ask nicely. We asked our neighbours if we could cut a tree in their garden down but said totally understood if they didn't want to. They offered to pay half but I said we'd pay for it all because it was for our benefit.

(note that we live next to a forest and we are surrounded by trees. This particular tree made a particular patch of our garden impossible to grow anything and was very ugly) ,

It's quite possible that it doesn't bother then so they just haven't thought about it. But I do think you should pay.

VanillaSpiceCandle · 30/05/2021 16:36

I’m all for trees and really love the magnolia next door. However the garden behind us has an enormous, out of control ash which isn’t pruned, shaped or cared for which throws the back patio into shade when it should be sunny also dropping so many leaves it affects my plants in the border. I imagine all the posters who are saying the tree was there first and how offended they’d be have made sure their trees don’t affect the sunlight in their gardens. Just ruins it for their neighbours. Trees are important and should be shaped and looked after not left to grow into a massive mess.

NeedNewKnees · 30/05/2021 16:43

You can ask, but I doubt that would improve neighbourly relations. You bought it knowing about the tree.

Our neighbours have a pair of cedars twice the height of the houses around here. Yes, they blocked light for a fair bit of the day for at least 6 houses. On the other hand, they are why our area is filled with birdsong. They are over 100 years old. Anyone asked for them to be cut back would get short shrift.