30ft trees in garden?

shelley_crow

My back garden backs onto another back garden. The people who own the house have a line of leylandii screening off their house but they are approximately 25-30ft. They block out a lot of light from my garden as my garden isn't very big anway.

Is there any law governing the height of trees in residential areas? I wouldn't mind them if the owners would lop some height off them. Has anyone had any experience of neighbours wit ridiculously large trees and light issues? Thanks in advance.

Biggles

I think there is now a law concerning high hedges. The best place to look for answers is www.gardenlaw.co.uk

tomterm8

The anti-social behaviour act 2003 part 8 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/ukpga_20030038_en_9#pt8-pb1-l1g65 essentially you need to complain to your local council.

2boysmum

Does this cover one tree on its own, I see on those websites it says a line of trees. We stay in a block of flats and the semi-detached house next to us has a ridiculously large tree in their front garden, it must be about 30ft high too and is also very wide, at the moment its not too bad as it doesn't have any leaves, but in the summer when it is full of leaves there is no sunlight in any of the flats front rooms.
Sorry to OP for hijacking their post

Lotus-eater

Have either of you tried speaking to the owners of the trees before asking about legislation?

2boysmum

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Have either of you tried speaking to the owners of the trees before asking about legislation?

yes I have spoken to our neighbours, they are not interested. She said "well the tree was here before you were"! I know its been cut back before as you can see the branches that have been done, I think its maybe the expense she is worried about

Lotus-eater

2boysmum wrote: »

yes I have spoken to our neighbours, they are not interested. She said "well the tree was here before you were"! I know its been cut back before as you can see the branches that have been done, I think its maybe the expense she is worried about

Well it can be expensive to get a tree surgeon in,
She does have a point about the tree being there before you, you knew about it before you moved in.
There is a school of thought that thinks mature trees should be encouraged in towns and cities, not cut down. I don't know of your situation enough to really comment tbh.

Mojisola

The law doesn't apply to individual trees, only hedges.

Biggles

2boysmum wrote: »

We stay in a block of flats and the semi-detached house next to us has a ridiculously large tree in their front garden, it must be about 30ft high too and is also very wide, at the moment its not too bad as it doesn't have any leaves, but in the summer when it is full of leaves there is no sunlight in any of the flats front rooms.
Sorry to OP for hijacking their post

30ft is not 'ridiculously high', it's Normal for a tree. And I trust it will get taller.

Was having sun in the front room one of the terms of the lease when you took the flat?

daska

Biggles wrote: »

30ft is not 'ridiculously high', it's Normal for a tree. And I trust it will get taller.

Was having sun in the front room one of the terms of the lease when you took the flat?

Quite agree. Trees are wonderful things and much needed in urban areas.

But...

The minimum recommendation for the distance from a building is ususally the height of the tree, though this depends on the variety as some roots spread further than others. If it's so close to the building that it's blocking the light then there is the potential for the roots to do some damage to the drains/foundations as well. This is not a foregone conclusion, many trees and buildings exist in perfect harmony for hundreds of years. But it is worth keeping an eye on

Jake'sGran

There is a known problem about Leylandii in particular. A man paid about £60k
in legal fees taking his neighbour to court. It was after this (to the best of my knowledge) that a bill went through parliament about restricting the height of this particularly horrible hedge tree. Since then I have always believed that the local council does have the power to reduce the height of the offending hedge even without the owner's permission. As others have intimated, it is best to discuss it with the neighbour first but as you have received an unkind response there seems to be no point in doing that now. I will try and find information about it and if successful will let you know.