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.

AFAIK many European Nations have fairly specific legislation around trees and hedges.

In particular how closely they can be planted to the boundary of a property.

seems pretty sensible to me

Right there in the OP.

I’ve pointed out on numerous occasions that the tree has been there longer than all of our houses

Very sensible. What do they say about building a house close to an existing tree? If the tree was there first, you factor that into your decision to live in that house.

The complaints come from more than 1 household.

OP doesn't say that anywhere.

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

I took that to be a description of one household. If OP returns she can clarify. Nothing she says in any of her posts so far differentiates between two households, both complaining.

OK - I didn't spot. Though it does not change the legal position at all. If I was reassured by an aborist that there would be no heave, and I was suffering a genuine nuisance from the tree, I would proceed as previously stated.

Not if the tree was there before they lay their patio.

You don't think that perhaps it might be better for these neighbours to take personal responsibility for making a stupid decision to put paving stones down over tree roots and remedy that? Also to come to terms with the fact that gardens will attract birds (not that they'll find much of interest in one covered in artificial grass, sadly) and trees will drop leaves? I don't understand why people buy houses with gardens rather than flats with balconies if they actively want to eliminate all living things from the outdoor space.

Wrong, the tree and its roots are wholly owned by the the OP and they have a duty of care to ensure they do not cause an issue out side of their property, once they are encroach/trespass onto neighbouring property and they continue to do so at an increasing rate as the tree is growing then it can be considered a nuisance by the neighbouring property as its affecting their land.

The law does not care how long the tree has been on the OPS land the root system is entering the neighbours property and is continuing to grow. They should not be on the neighbouring property full stop if they are causing a nuisance to the neighbour and it is for the neighbour to deicide if it constitutes a nuisance to them.

Which is does as it is interfering with their plans to lay paving.

That's not how the law see it, so you are entitled to your opinion but the law sees things quite different and that's all that matters, if the neighbour takes civil action.

Your tree is negatively affecting your neighbours and their enjoyment of their home. You therefore have a legal & moral obligation to sort it out! HTH

This thread has made me realise I like trees more than I like most humans. If I ruled the world all trees would be protected and planners would be told to ban developments that involved cutting down trees. I'd make it mandatory for people buying a home to sign a form stating that they understand that their neighbours' trees may drop leaves into their garden, the roots may grow into adjacent gardens and wildlife will use the trees and hedges and have protections. If the buyers can't cope with this they can find somewhere with no trees.

Sounds like a tree surgeon would be a good idea? Don't roots continue to grow- a bit concerning for the neighbours. Over time, they will affect more than just the bottom of their garden. As the neighbours id just get a tree surgeon out myself to do what they can - up to the boundary.

Hopefully it's not as big as this....

Sounds like the tree needs a good trim. I have the same issue with my next door neighbour. They have a huge garden covered in mature trees. They keep the trees pruned and taken care of and we also have the freedom to cut any branches overhanging our garden. It’s all very friendly. We all love the trees but it’s not fair I don’t get any sun (already a north facing garden) because of their trees.
It’s all very civilised.

So much this!

Someone near where I live has started a campaign on social media because she applied to get two TPO’d trees chopped down so she could pave her whole garden. She was refused, is outraged about it and genuinely does not get the reasons for refusal. Not sure her argument of ‘there are plenty of trees near here’ is valid.

It just annoys me that so many people see trees and nature generally as being a nuisance.

If you’d taken the time to read my posts, the tree was pruned last year and does not need a trim.

You don’t know what you’re talking about.

Landowners have an obligation to ensure trees are not causing a danger to neighbouring properties. It’s also not negatively impacting their enjoyment of their home - and this is not a thing in terms of trees anyway.

Perhaps do some research before you post. HTH.

What was there first - the tree or the wall?

I'd make sure the camera is in a place where they actually can see it, and post a notice to the effect that the tree is being monitored 24/7.

I have a 2 acre garden and loads of trees all around including sycamore, no neighbours but the sycamores are a real pain with their seedlings, and if left they grow into trees, so I can see why the neighbours are complaining. But why buy a house if you don’t like the trees ?

I am a bit curious about posters complaining about leaves and birds in the garden. Don’t gardens tend to have these things???

I guess the fashion is for manicured or fake lawns and neat planting. Sod the wildlife! A neighbour put fake grass throughout and anti bird spikes all on his fence. Horrendous.

I was wondering the same @Seymourscat. I bet they don’t like bugs either.

trees are important for wildlife and for heritage. As has been said many times on TV, they are the lungs of the planet. A quick google shows that living near trees makes people overall happier and less stressed. Unlike living next to tricky neighbours who moan rather than have a constructive conversation.

But it’s clearly not a suntrap corner, is it? The neighbours have plonked a patio in a shaded, tree-rooted, bird poo corner and want to magically make it a suntrap in retrospect by removing the tree that was there first. That’s bonkers.

As an aside, I’ve never understood putting patios in the sunny spot anyway – paving will only make that part hotter, making the garden uncomfortable in summer as climate change worsens; and wastes all that sun on paving when plants could be blooming there. First thing we did in our garden was tear down the shed on the south-facing wall and plant a fig. But irrelevant, really, as these neighbours don’t sound like gardeners and it’s not a sunny spot in their garden.

You can’t simply not be curtailed by neighbours’ planting: there’s no right to sun. As long as no one’s afoul of the high hedges act, they can plant anything (bar Japanese knotweed etc), and neighbours have to live with the shade it creates. Just plant deep-shade and dry-shade plants and live with it.