Council owned trees blocking my light!

judygarland

Not sure if anyone can help on this but I have a south facing garden which is in the shade from about 2pm due to two very large deciduous trees. I have looked on the council's website about trees and there is a section that states that if my neighbour has a hedge that is over 2m in height, which acts in someway as a barrier to light and because of this, the enjoyment of my domestic property is adversely affected, then I have grounds for a complaint.

My next door neighbour is unhappy about these trees but when she called the council a couple of years ago she was told that they wouldnt do anything because they are not classed as hedging. We don't want them removing but it would help improve the enjoyment of our garden if they were reduced in height or even just thinned out.

Has anyone had this type of situation?

many thanks

olly300

I suggest you have a good look at the trees and the pavement/road surrounding them, as lots of councils are removing or reducing the height of trees if they have the potential to cause a risk to someone i.e. their roots cause the pavement to crack, old rotten branches that can fall and damage property or someone

Then I suggest both of you should write to the council and mention all the problems the trees are causing. The council is more likely to do something if the tree is a potential risk to someone else then just causing you light problems.

Unfortunately I've found that councils like companies have a habit of trying to get rid of "troublesome" phone calls. Most councils have at time limit in which you have to reply to you i.e. 10 working days.

And then if that doesn't work contact one of your local councillors (find them at https://www.theyworkforyou.com).

Tip- if you have a councillor for your ward who is a member of an opposition party to whatever party that controls your council then they tend to be more helpful.

judygarland

olly300 wrote: »

I suggest you have a good look at the trees and the pavement/road surrounding them, as lots of councils are removing or reducing the height of trees if they have the potential to cause a risk to someone i.e. their roots cause the pavement to crack, old rotten branches that can fall and damage property or someone

Then I suggest both of you should write to the council and mention all the problems the trees are causing. The council is more likely to do something if the tree is a potential risk to someone else then just causing you light problems.

Unfortunately I've found that councils like companies have a habit of trying to get rid of "troublesome" phone calls. Most councils have at time limit in which you have to reply to you i.e. 10 working days.

And then if that doesn't work contact one of your local councillors (find them at www.theyworkforyou.com).

Tip- if you have a councillor for your ward who is a member of an opposition party to whatever party that controls your council then they tend to be more helpful.

Thanks very much for that info. The trees are in parkland as our house backs onto it. I'm wondering whether to employ a tree surgeon to give me an assessment to see if we have anything there to work with.

balloo_2

I think that the blocking the light thingy you were on about will only come into effect if the thing thats blocking your light is not far from your windows (Don't quote me on this) but its something stupid like 2meters away. I hope i am wrong for your sake.

bordercars

we have a row of oaks, on forestry commision land at the back of us, they are less than a metre from our boundary, when i called them and asked , they sent a guy out. he said they were healthy and they wouldnt remove, all the growth comes our way as they chase light, what is growing in the forest is almost nil. he did say if we wanted to cut back get a tree surgeon and toss the rubbish back on their land. might wait till they get to be 50ft they are about 40 now then ask them for insurance docs to make sure my property is covered should there trees fall.

olly300

bordercars wrote: »

we have a row of oaks, on forestry commision land at the back of us, they are less than a metre from our boundary, when i called them and asked , they sent a guy out. he said they were healthy and they wouldnt remove, all the growth comes our way as they chase light, what is growing in the forest is almost nil. he did say if we wanted to cut back get a tree surgeon and toss the rubbish back on their land. might wait till they get to be 50ft they are about 40 now then ask them for insurance docs to make sure my property is covered should there trees fall.

Don't hold your breath.

If they fall on your house your buildings insurance company will reimbursed you. They will then chase the forestry commission for the costs to reimburse them.

If they fall on you then if you are alive you can go after them.

balloo_2

Psst don't say to anyone on here that i told you but tree surgeon after he cuts the main part of a tree down knocks a large copper nail or 2 or 3 into the stump and it kills the rest of the tree.

irnbru_2

judygarland wrote: »

My next door neighbour is unhappy about these trees but when she called the council a couple of years ago she was told that they wouldnt do anything because they are not classed as hedging.

You and your neighbour should decide what you want done with them. Then make an appointment to see your local councillor. They'll deal with the request/complaint on your behalf.

AnxiousMum

A 'hedge' is made up of at least three trees in a row in the eyes of the high hedge law.If there is only two, then the council will stick by the fact that it isn't a hedge. As for the 'right to light', when I researched this, there wasn't really an entitlement to light when it comes to trees!