I am fed up with neighbours hassling me about our tree

[Silosy]

We live in a terrace and there are a row of mature - as in 100+ year old trees - along all of our back gardens. They’re a mixture of sycamore and plane, all healthy all well kept.

The people living directly behind us and adjacent have moaned incessantly about our tree for the last 15 years.

‘It’s pushing our paving up.’
’It shades our patio between 4 and 5 in the summer.’
’Pigeons roost in it and shit on our garden.’
’Leaves fall in our garden.’
’It makes the ground level uneven.’

All of these are frankly nonsense arguments and I’ve pointed out on numerous occasions that the tree has been there longer than all of our houses, we ensure it’s maintained and if it was felled, the heave would cause more issues for them then its presence but no. I’ve had another whingeing message today telling me we ‘have to do something’ about the tree because the paving stones at the end of their garden which they laid over the roots of the tree are being pushed up.

What do you want me to do, exactly? Go back in time and advise you not to lay paving stones where tree roots are?

Before anyone posts it, the tree is not TPO’d and no, we can’t just get a TPO on it.

And no, I’m not going to fell it. I’m just ranting really.

My neighbour could have typed this. Their tree is damaging a wall in our garden and our grass is covered in leaves and bird shit. I've given up waiting on them to sort it so I'm waiting until the next really windy night and I'll take a saw to the damn tree.

You sound selfish. Part of the responsibility of having a tree is maintaining it.

If it is pushing their paving up they have a right to complain.

I think you are being very unreasonable. Just because all the issues fall on their side doesn't mean you couldn't be a little sympathetic. Fine for you to have a lovely big tree which doesn't shade your garden and drop its leaves on it. Not to mention the paving. Get a tree surgeon round and explain their worries and see what he suggests. Then ask if they would go halves to do the work or even pay for it all. If it's as bad as they are saying they probably will if they can afford it.

The tree had a major pollard about 6-7 years ago and the crown was reduced last year to alleviate some of the overhang so it doesn’t need cutting. They just don’t like it.

There’s nothing growing in their garden - their grass is fake and they have a few pots with fake plants in them. Of course they can complain if they want, but if they lay paving slabs over the roots of a mature tree, it’s not my problem to solve.

What does fake grass have to do with it ? I think you’re showing your snobbery with this kind of comment.

I have fake grass in my garden, a small garden. Because the grass didn’t grow, I didn’t want fake grass but I also didn’t want a dirt area for my children to play on.
It looks great!! Don’t presume people don’t care about nature because they’re have some artificial lawn.

I don’t care if they have fake grass or not. In fact, I also have some fake grass.

So why mention it then ? 🤔

I’d blank them

“oh dear is that so?”
”sooo sorry there is nothing I can do to help”

or you could be blunt “I was advised not to take it down as it might lead to subsidence in the nearby properties “

it might after all

Don’t get rid of the tree! We gave in to the pester power from our neighbours and removed the tree in our garden. It wasn’t an old one and it did it feel like a big ask at the time but now our garden floods every year in that corner. Didn’t realise it was the tree stopping that previously.

OP said the trees are a 100+ years old, they would have know about the trees when they put the paving slabs in. Not sure there's anything to complain about there. Buy a house next to trees, expect there to be roots.

I have no sympathy for people who buy a house with mature trees very nearby and then complain about the trees. Whether or not they want a natural garden or a synthetic one, only idiots place paving slabs under a tree and then complain about birdshit and roots.

No idea how to deal with such entitled nitwits, though. I have three neighbours' trees on two sides, and one neighbour has my trees on her side, and we all deal with them with good manners and common sense.

Why can't you get a TPO?

Are the trees a nuisance. If so they should be dealt with.

I did contact the council previously to ask if it could be TPO’d but unfortunately, they felt it’s amenity value wasn’t enough it being in a rear garden and not really visible from the street. I might actually ask them again.

I think just remind them of the pollard and cutting back you've done. Ask them if they want to give input next time it's maintained eg they could ask tree surgeon to do something specific their side ?

How long is their garden? If there garden is smallish and the sycamore is planted very close to the boundary I’m not surprised they would like something done. By not doing anything you are obliging them to have to clear up a lot of leaves and mess and have an overshadowed garden. That’s pretty shitty really. I don’t agree with the argument that the tree was there first means you aren’t obliged to do anything. That’s an obnoxious way to think.

A 100 year old Sycamore is likely to be very big even with it having been pollarded. They are nice enough looking trees but they are dense and can block a lot of light. The leaves and sycamores are more annoying than a lot of trees too. I know this because I have a huge sycamore in my garden and I have a bit of a love hate relationship with it. Luckily for my neighbours and we all get on well so I try and be considerate and I regularly get a tree surgeon to reduce any my trees that might be causing a problem. All the new trees I’ve planted I’ve planted well away from the edges of my garden and I’ve only planted suitable trees. My sycamore does overhang two of my neighbours gardens but it’s positioned in a way that is ok for them.

Sycamore trees are not great to live near to. I have one over the rear fence and every year I have to dig up Sycamore seedlings that have taken root in my garden. Sometimes I miss some and then have to deal with a well rooted one.
I didn’t even notice the tree when we moved in because it was very tiny but tiny things grow.

As I’ve just mentioned in my post I have a large sycamore in my garden whilst it’s not a great idea to put paving down you struggle to get anything to grow right beneath the tree. I have an area of moss and weeds in my otherwise well looked after garden. The reasons the OPs neighbours might have chosen fake grass and paving might
be because they can’t get anything else to grow. Whist pollarding is useful to reduce the overall size of the tree it can result in even less light getting to the ground as the tree because more compact and dense. Sycamores are only suitable for really big gardens.

You could argue that the OP shouldn’t have bought her house if she wasn’t prepared to look after the sycamore properly.

The pushing up the paving slabs is an issue. Our neighbours had the same issue, theirs ignored in formyears, caused subsidence in their house.
You need to get the tree looked after and have excellent house insurance.

Tossing branches, roots and any trimmings back is not legal. It would be considered fly tipping.
If you cut back anything belonging to a neighbour you must offer it back to them. if they don't want it, the onus is on the cutter to dispose of it.

Posting on MN for a rant seldom works out well for anybody. Everyone's a keyboard warrior, eh :)

Anyway, I do have some sympathy re: bird shit. I feed dozens of them every day and I have to hose the bird shit down from under the feeders every other day, it takes me 5 minutes with a boiling hot water hose. On the odd occasion I've tried to be more frugal and use cold, it's been near on impossible to shift it. It's.... not nice.

So, if you can do something to calm down the pigeon presence, it would be a kind and neighbourly thing to do. Pigeons are annoying too, that stupid 'shit shit' squeak they make when they're flying, and they're always the ones fighting/trying to shag on my roof at 4.30am and waking me up every day too. The stupid flappy squeaks they make, argh!

Are sycamores the one that throw sticky crap everywhere?

As to recording, get a trail cam. You can claim you think you saw a hedgehog or a fox so have it set to see the wildlife. You can get a pretty decent one for around £75.

Re: TPO, if you tell the council you think the tree is at risk from a neighbour, they may be more inclined to give you one.

This perfectly distils the neoliberal approach to nature. Your garden is your property; therefore, the assets in it are your possessions. You have a right to free enjoyment of those assets, but only insofar as it doesn't impinge on other people's enjoyment of their private property and assets.

Unfortunately, nature doesn't follow that ideology. Trees don't respect boundary lines. Seedlings fall, birds nest where they like, the ground changes as roots push through.

If we were to adhere to the principle, to take it to a logical extreme, we would all have to have astro turf, non-pollinating hydrangeas in pots and tall fences with invisible soundproof forcefields around our little patches of outdoor space. That way we could all enjoy our private property in peace.

Your neighbours have actually informed you that the tree roots are causing an issue and damage within their neighbouring property and you have acknowledged that.

They can take civil action against you as a 'private nuisance' under common law as The nuisance has to cross a boundary and affect the person's enjoyment of his/her own property and you aware of the fact and refuse address the issue.

It is irrelevant how long ago the tree was planted its your land your tree and your responsible so claiming its not your problem is 100% incorrect and I would hope they take civil action against you, as you have no leg to stand on.

We have three beautiful very mature ash trees along the boundary of our rear garden (are situated in the neighbours driveway). We love them and would in no way want to loose them but this spring we've noticed the foliage cover is much thicker and instead of 'mottled' shade over the garden is now completely shaded for a couple of hours in the afternoon, so ideally they need thinning.

How often do you maintain them? Could you lop, top and thin the trees, say every three years?