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Original poster

What ground do I have re my neighbours tree

95 replies

Cherryblossom200 · 29/03/2022 17:35

Hi there,

I live next to an elderly lady nearing 80 who is very attached to her tree. It's a huge beech tree which is approx 7/8 metres from my house. The houses we live in are only small two bedroom houses and the tree is way too big to be so close to the houses.

The main issue apart from the proximity, is the leaves that fall in my garden is literally killing my grass. I have no lawn left and I'm good at trying to clear the leaves up every year. Plus I get virtually not sunshine due to where the tree is. Yet my neighbour has sun all day.

The tree doesn't have a TPO, and hardly been cut back since I've lived in the house the past 5 years.

Ideally I'd like the tree to go. However I don't think my neighbour would accept that. I think it's way to tall and the bulk of the tree above is too big in the summer, so alternatively I'd like my neighbour to reduce the crown of the tree by about half way .

I have no idea where I stand legally with this. I know that in general there are hardly any laws to protect people out there when it comes to trees?!

Any ideas?

Thanks!

OP posts:
cameocat · 29/03/2022 18:04

I think your attitude that she is selfish blocking out your sun is a bit extreme. The tree was there when you bought the house so that was a choice you made. You can if course offer to pay a surgeon to reduce the tree but she has the right to decline.

Please don't bully an 80 year old if you don't agree with her decision.

picklemewalnuts · 29/03/2022 18:11

Where are you directionally in comparison with her? I'm not sure how she's getting so much more sun than you.

A agree with the PP, lost the conifer first. It's faster growing, so more easily replaced.

Original poster
Cherryblossom200 · 29/03/2022 18:13

Oh gosh I'm not going to bully my neighbour - chill out. Stop over reacting, where have I said I'm going to approach my elderly neighbour in an aggressive way. I've never even asked her once to trim it since I've lived there, but it is getting too big.

The conifers were there when I moved in and I'm having them cut back half way next week. They provide a lot of privacy from the car park behind and the houses so I'm keeping them.

I'm south westerly.

OP posts:
donquixotedelamancha · 29/03/2022 18:14

The main issue apart from the proximity, is the leaves that fall in my garden is literally killing my grass.

Leaves don't do that if you collect them up- get a garden vac.

It may be the shade is killing your grass- try overseeding with grass designed for shade.

Original poster
Cherryblossom200 · 29/03/2022 18:16

The sun moves around on her side and in the spring/autumn the majority of my garden is in shade because of the tree. You can't tell from the photos unless you were sitting directly in my garden to see the full affect. I wouldn't be complaining about it on here if it wasn't an issue.

OP posts:
Original poster
Cherryblossom200 · 29/03/2022 18:17

And the ivy is all my neighbours.

OP posts:
RestingPandaFace · 29/03/2022 18:22

Surely the conifer is having much more impact on your light than the neighbours tree.

ValBiro · 29/03/2022 18:25

@Cherryblossom200 I am a nature lover but would feel peeved with a tree that size too, it's great if you have a massive garden to move around in but in small gardens one tree can easily block out all the light. We had similar with a neighbours large tree that blocked out all sun to our south facing garden - during the 1st lockdown we paid halves to cut the whole thing down. We were just lucky they agreed!

Agree with pp's suggestions of cutting the conifer down to rescue your lawn a little.

Cakecakemorecake · 29/03/2022 18:27

OP I have a couple of massive trees and a whole row of the dreaded leylandii. I feel terrible as they definitely affect my neighbours but I simply can't afford to deal with them. I have been quoted several thousand. I wish I was able to do something but it's not a job I can do myself. Maybe it's the same for your neighbour.

donquixotedelamancha · 29/03/2022 18:27

Surely the conifer is having much more impact on your light than the neighbours tree.

OP is south west facing, so the conifers will shade for part of the day but might mostly shade her neighbour's garden on the other side of selfish tree woman.

Dilbertian · 29/03/2022 18:28

*Firstly I absolutely love nature and tree's. However the person who gains mostly from the tree is my neighbour who sits outside and sun bathes and we sit in the shade most of the time.

It's all about quality of life too, so we all benefit from the tree and it's beauty but also we all gain from the short amount of sun our country gets. It's only fair and selfish on my neighbours side to not consider this.*

You're ridiculous. You chose to buy a house with a tree in the next garden. If you don't like your garden being in shade, you should not have chosen that house.

viques · 29/03/2022 18:28

Her grass looks fine, maybe it’s something else killing yours.

BeforeGodAndAllTheFish · 29/03/2022 18:32

It was there when you moved in. You're going to have to live with it. You had plenty chance to look at it and decide if you wanted to live with your garden that way. You bought the house. So now you love with your garden that way.

EvilPea · 29/03/2022 18:34

Conifers are a bugger for sucking the water out of a lawn. Native hedging might suit the spot better, and be better for wildlife.

I’ve reseeded with shade lawn seeds, I cannot tell you the difference. It’s not boggy anymore either

Unmumsymofo · 29/03/2022 18:37

Please leave the tree and your neighbour alone. You knew the tree was there when you moved in so you are being entitled and unreasonable

Original poster
Cherryblossom200 · 29/03/2022 18:37

I had no idea the tree would cast so much shade when I bought the house until I actually moved in.

The conifers don't give any shade to my neighbours garden at all, it just provides her privacy from the car park.

The way the sun rises is from the left of her house at the front and moves round behind the tree and sets In such a way that she gets sun all day long pretty much. The conifers as I said are being cut back half way next week, but I like the security they provide from the car park. They don't do anything to block my neighbours sun light.

OP posts:
Indigokitten · 29/03/2022 18:37

@Cherryblossom200

And the ivy is all my neighbours.
Why haven’t you cut it back from the fence or your garden then?
Polyanthus2 · 29/03/2022 18:38

Yes if your aspect is SW then you'll get shade all afternoon ie BBQ time

Polyanthus2 · 29/03/2022 18:39

Neighbour is elderly - maybe once she's gone....

Blimecory · 29/03/2022 18:40

It's all about quality of life too, so we all benefit from the tree and it's beauty but also we all gain from the short amount of sun our country gets. It's only fair and selfish on my neighbours side to not consider this.

Eh? It is definitely not selfish of the neighbour. The only selfish person here is you.

Original poster
Cherryblossom200 · 29/03/2022 18:41

Because my neighbour doesn't really like anything cut back, she loves the ivy. When I sprayed a little weed killer on my drive way she caused a fuss because a few of her daffodils died even though I didn't go anywhere near them. She is very touchy about everything in her garden so I prefer not to rock the boat. Even when I suggested I would cut down the over hanging branches in my garden she ordered me not to. She said it would kill the tree. So I'm don't touch anything which is growing from her garden even if it encroaches on mine .

OP posts:
AlwaysLatte · 29/03/2022 18:43

It doesn't look to be overhanging in the picture?
I'm confused if the tree is making your lawn dry when theirs, where the tree grows, isn't. Are you sure there isn't something else in your garden drawing up the water? Are you keeping the grass watered in summer?

Clymene · 29/03/2022 18:44

Your garden is dreadful because you have massive leylandii at the end of it, not because of her beech tree. And you have never ever bothered to look after them. They should be trimmed into a hedge and cut twice a year. When you cut them back now, they'll look awful because you can't get them into a smaller conifer shape - they'll just be conifers with their tops chopped off.

It's a massive cheek to ask her to cut her tree down.

Chloemol · 29/03/2022 18:45

You don’t have any rights, and if you reduce it in height it will simply mean it grows faster and thicker

Speak to her to see if she will agree to crown thinking, so light gets through the branches, you may have to offer to pay as she doesn’t have to do anything

The tree was obviously there when you moved in, and trees grow

AlwaysLatte · 29/03/2022 18:47

Oh if you have Leilandii there are terrible for sucking up water. We had a whole row of them, about 30ft high, and we took them completely out and put a beech hedge instead (you can get 8ft ones to speed things up). We noticed a huge difference in the lawn quality after that.

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