Can I do anything about this sycamore tree?

[Richtea67]

So I completely hold my hands up on this one....we purchased a property over a year ago with a very close large sycamore tree overhanging our driveway and the front part of our house. It is completely our fault not researching the impact of this and I do understand we have to put up and shut up to a great extent. The bloody thing drives me mad....bird poo all over the cars and house, leaves, seed pods and now everything coasted in a sticky sap that I can't get off the car. Anyway....this is ours to deal with and I guess there are ways to remedy all these annoyances (regular gutter cleaning, car cleaning, sweeping etc...). My main concern is how big is this bloody thing likely to get.?..it already towers above the house. If it's going to get much bigger I worry about it affecting the price of our property (we're likely to be here for at least 5 years). I haven't yet confirmed this with the council, but it is likely to have a TPO (the tree is council owned). I thought the council would take some responsibility for pruning the trees, but having looked on their website apparently not. If I applied to the council would we be likely to get permission to prune the tree back so it doesn't overhang so much? We'd obviously employ a proper tree surgeon to do this so as not to damage the tree. How much would this be likely to cost? Also what signs of disease should I look out for, as if the thing becomes unstable it would be a hazard to our property, and I know the council are unlikely to monitor tree health. TIA

When you say it's a Council tree do you mean it's own the pavement or is it within a Council estate or similar?
Highway trees (pavements/verges) are unlikely to be TPO'd and Council's are usually very good at keeping them pruned because of public liability etc. They are usually inspected regularly. I would assume the same treatment would happen to trees in parks, housing estates etc.
The Council will have to agree to any works as the owner, but you wouldn't need to make an application under planning rules unless TPO'd or in a conservation area.

@Seeline interesting thank you. Yes the tree is on the verge outside our property. I can't see anything on the council website re their responsibilities re: pruning and inspection, but did see this:

We don't prune or remove our trees to prevent them overhanging a boundary.

and

We don't prune trees to limit seasonal annoyances (see above), but try to carry out routine programmes of street cleansing during autumn months to assist with clearing fallen leaves from roads and pavements.

Perhaps I should contact the council directly to ask about pruning/inspection and go from there.

Sounds like a good approach.

IME Council's will always want to reduce the probability of someone making a claim against them - so if you can say that it is getting too big and is damaging your property, and you will claim against them for repairs, or if you can see a dead branch and suggest that it may fall on your car/someone on the pavement etc they are more likely to come and at least have a look.

I have no idea if they would give you permission to pay someone to do any works - again, there would be public liability concerns of private contractors dropping bits of tree on members of the public/cars on the road etc

If it is council owned then you can't prune it. Sycamores tend not to have tpos. It is normal for tree surveys to be undertaken on a periodic basis and any works prioritised and scheduled over several years. The tree officer will be able to advise where in the cycle your tree falls and if anything is scheduled to maintain it.

@LIZS thank you

Where I live, trees on pavements are the responsibility of the county council not the local council. Basically they're whoever looks after highways.

I contact mine to tell them the tree outside my house needs pruning and they come along and do it.

I am allowed to cut branches overhanging my boundary but my tree surgeon isn't allowed to touch anything outside it.

As for eventual height, look it up. Sounds like it's pretty much full grown.

Check your boundaries too. In our road all the verges are within our individual boundaries. The council owned bit, is just the solid pavements.

I feel your pain - our next door neighbour had a massive sycamore in our old place and it was the bane of my life - we had a glass roof underneath it and this was the worst time of year for that bloody sticky sap and gunk.

It was enormous as well and I was so worried that it would damage our property - we did try and drop some polite hints to our neighbour about geting it cut back a bit but she refused as she said it was perfectly healthy and there wasn't much we could do as it hadn't caused any damage yet. I was very relieved to sell that place and move!

You can cut back overhanging branches, if that would help? It might look very lopsided but it's not illegal to do so and would solve your bird poo issue and alleviate the sap, if not the leaves and seeds.

With regards costs for a tree surgeon, you're likely looking at a good chunk put of £600.

We have an ancient sycamore in put garden which I absolutely love that we have reduced every 4 years although it is still absolutely massive. The biggest portion of the work is removing the dead wood. This is the stuff that tends to come loose ans fall causing damage.

Hot soapy water removes the sticky sap. No help for the seeds though

You can cut back anything that overhangs your boundary, it dosnt matter if it’s council owned or not. As long as it’s not got a TPO on it it then it’s perfectly legal. I’d try getting the council to do it first , that way it saves you money. 🙂