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Leylandii - Neighbourly problems
Gorgeous_George
Posts: 7,964 Forumite
Hi
I hope this is the right forum for this query.
MIL has a small garden which enjoyed views of the local church. A neighbour has grown Leylandii trees to a height of 14 feet. It really gets MIL down and, as she is her 80's, I feel dierct action will be best. I'm tempted to hack the trees down in the dead of night.
Repeated requests for the offending trees to be pruned to a reasonable height have gone unanswered. Is the council complaint route worth the hassle and how much would this cost? Alternatively, if the trees disappeared one night while MIL was on holiday, what are the ramifications?
GG
I hope this is the right forum for this query.
MIL has a small garden which enjoyed views of the local church. A neighbour has grown Leylandii trees to a height of 14 feet. It really gets MIL down and, as she is her 80's, I feel dierct action will be best. I'm tempted to hack the trees down in the dead of night.
Repeated requests for the offending trees to be pruned to a reasonable height have gone unanswered. Is the council complaint route worth the hassle and how much would this cost? Alternatively, if the trees disappeared one night while MIL was on holiday, what are the ramifications?
GG
There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary and those that don't.
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Comments
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theres laws in the uk , except scotland , on the height and distance from these fastfood hedges.Seek a councillor to approach them first.Even with the law support you would still be court fodder for a midnight hack for damaging property.Removing a view if not affecting light levels are not considered a reason.
bear in mind theres been neighbours murdered because of such hedges0 -
Copper nails may be a more subtle option.
But get in touch with the local council first."Mrs. Pench, you've won the car contest, would you like a triumph spitfire or 3000 in cash?" He smiled.
Mrs. Pench took the money. "What will you do with it all? Not that it's any of my business," he giggled.
"I think I'll become an alcoholic," said Betty.0 -
Gorgeous_George wrote: »Hi
I hope this is the right forum for this query.
MIL has a small garden which enjoyed views of the local church. A neighbour has grown Leylandii trees to a height of 14 feet. It really gets MIL down and, as she is her 80's, I feel dierct action will be best. I'm tempted to hack the trees down in the dead of night.
Repeated requests for the offending trees to be pruned to a reasonable height have gone unanswered. Is the council complaint route worth the hassle and how much would this cost? Alternatively, if the trees disappeared one night while MIL was on holiday, what are the ramifications?
GG
Take a look here www.gardenlaw.co.uk might find the answers you need or advice on finding out how to resolve the problemIf i could i would, but i cannot so i wont, but maybe one day i will.0 -
Thanks all for the advice. Great link to gardenlaw site. If I could thank you twice, I would. In fact, I will.
If we go down the legal route and MIL ends up paying for the matter to be resolved, can this be recovered through the small claims court. It could be £400 or thereabouts.
***dressed in black with saw in hand***
GG
***only kidding***
***at the moment***There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary and those that don't.0 -
Much as I hate these trees and the thoughtless basstoords that grow them with no thought for anyone. 14 ft aint that high for a tree. How close are they to her house?
I live in Edinburgh and have a 3rd floor flat that had a brilliant view of the castle and over the Pentand hills. The council planted trees many years ago that are now so large all I can see are the trees ;-(
Sorry for not being more sympathetic. Devils advocate you know ;-)0 -
There's some interesting information on the procedure here
http://www.gosschalks.co.uk/whatsnewstory.asp?id=2150 -
Those trees are a bloomin' nuisance. People seem to plant a solid row of them, then let them grow to ridiculous heights.
I'd hate to live next door to some... in fact, I'd not buy a house if it had them next door.0 -
Gorgeous_George wrote: »Hi
I hope this is the right forum for this query.
MIL has a small garden which enjoyed views of the local church. A neighbour has grown Leylandii trees to a height of 14 feet. It really gets MIL down and, as she is her 80's, I feel dierct action will be best. I'm tempted to hack the trees down in the dead of night.
A difficult one this. MIL feels she's entitled to her view of the church and your neighbour, presumably, feels he's entitled to some privacy. I can see both points of view. However, there is now legislation which enables a local council to take action over "high hedges".Repeated requests for the offending trees to be pruned to a reasonable height have gone unanswered. Is the council complaint route worth the hassle and how much would this cost? Alternatively, if the trees disappeared one night while MIL was on holiday, what are the ramifications?
GG
Were the requests made in writing or verbally? Either way, do you have a note of when each request was made?
You need to try and resolve this with the neighbour, first, before you go to the Council. Complaining to the Council is "the last resort" and they expect you to have taken steps to resolve the dispute with your neighbour first. Keep a record of what you do - each time you ask, each letter you write.
Have you sat down with MIL and the neighbour to discuss this? Council will expect you to do this, too.
If the Council take on the complaint - and they may ask you to take up the matter again, with the neighbour first - then there is a fee. This varies between Councils but it can't be more than about £300-£350.
If the Council agrees that everything that could be done, has been done, then they simply issue an instruction to the neighbour - the Council won't cut the trees/hedge down. The neighbour will be given time to take action - and can defer the work if birds are nesting. The neighbour can also appeal against the Council's decision - that takes more time.
So ..... it's not an easy matter of getting the Council to sort out the problem.
I strongly suggest you attempt to resolve this with the neighbour - calmly - on behalf of your MIL. Perhaps offer to give the guy a hand by clearing up the clippings?
Bear in mind that for every "right" we try to assert for ourselves, the other party feels that they have "a right" too. These things can only be resolved by calm discussion and compromise.
I suggest you do not take action to remove, trim or damage the trees. As "repeated requests" have been made for the hedge to be trimmed, then the finger of suspicion will point firmly in your direction, if anything suspect happened :eek:
HTHWarning ..... I'm a peri-menopausal axe-wielding maniac
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I'm sorry to have to point out that in some areas of the country, the fee to invoke the High Hedges legislation with the local authority is £600!
Unfortunately, your MIL does not have an entitlement to a view.
Rather than spending the money on HH fees, why not offer to pay for a timber feller to come in and do the dirty deed at your expense? However, having said that, there is nothing to force the neighbour to continue to keep the trees under control in the future so your money may, in effect, be wasted. Hope you can get it sorted out to everyone's satisfaction.0 -
Hi all.
We sent a letter on Tuesday using the format provided in the gardenlaw link.
Today, neighbour phoned to say someone would be round later today. They are going to remove 2 feet or so from the trees tomorrow.
Result - hopefully.
Thank you for your support. And 14 feet is high at the end of a 20 feet (or thereabouts) garden. That is the MIL's garden, not the neighbours.
All previous comms had been by hand-written letter with copies kept. It was the letter headed ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOR ACT 2003 PART 8 - HIGH HEDGES and typed up on a PC that got the result.
Am I the golden boy tonight or what.
GGThere are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary and those that don't.0
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