Tree in hedgerow - who looks after it?

SnowyOwl_2

Does anyone know who to approach to have a tree pruned? The tree in question is in the hedgerow, is just outside the periphery of my property, and the other side of it is a public highway. So would it be the Roads Service, or should I contact the local council? The developers who constructed this place have gone bust so I can't ask them.

x12yhp

I would guess at the council unless the tree is becoming a danger to the road in which case the roads people might get involved. If it isn't too big, you could always get out a ladder and come large pruners...

RuthnJasper

I work in the council's countryside service. Trees are the responsibility of the owner of the land from which the tree is growing. If the hedge is against the pavement/road then it will either be the county council's Highways department or the city/borough council's environment department.

Hope this helps! Good luck. xx

browneyedbazzi

Does the hedgerow form part of the boundary of your property or other private owned land?

If so most local authorities would consider the tree to be the responsibility of the landowner and expect them to make arrangements for its maintenance and cover the costs. If it is a danger to users of the highway (obstructing visibility or dropping limbs that may injure someone passing) then the council has a duty to make the owner of the tree to take remedial action. If the owner cannot be traced (ie if the tree is on land that belonged to the developer who has gone bust) then the council's highways maintenance team may be willing to fix the problem.

Your first contact should be with the council's highways enforcement team because they have to judge if the tree is a danger etc before anything can be done.

If the tree isn't a danger or causing an obstruction of the highway but the problem is it looking scruffy or blocking light then most councils won't go anywhere near it.

RuthnJasper

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

Does the hedgerow form part of the boundary of your property or other private owned land?

If so most local authorities would consider the tree to be the responsibility of the landowner and expect them to make arrangements for its maintenance and cover the costs. If it is a danger to users of the highway (obstructing visibility or dropping limbs that may injure someone passing) then the council has a duty to make the owner of the tree to take remedial action. If the owner cannot be traced (ie if the tree is on land that belonged to the developer who has gone bust) then the council's highways maintenance team may be willing to fix the problem.

Your first contact should be with the council's highways enforcement team because they have to judge if the tree is a danger etc before anything can be done.

If the tree isn't a danger or causing an obstruction of the highway but the problem is it looking scruffy or blocking light then most councils won't go anywhere near it.

That's totally true - the council can't take action if it is only affecting a private household. My office has had reports in the past of "dangerous potholes" on paths/pavements which have turned out to be someone's driveway!

SnowyOwl_2

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

Does the hedgerow form part of the boundary of your property or other private owned land?

If so most local authorities would consider the tree to be the responsibility of the landowner and expect them to make arrangements for its maintenance and cover the costs. If it is a danger to users of the highway (obstructing visibility or dropping limbs that may injure someone passing) then the council has a duty to make the owner of the tree to take remedial action. If the owner cannot be traced (ie if the tree is on land that belonged to the developer who has gone bust) then the council's highways maintenance team may be willing to fix the problem.

Your first contact should be with the council's highways enforcement team because they have to judge if the tree is a danger etc before anything can be done.

If the tree isn't a danger or causing an obstruction of the highway but the problem is it looking scruffy or blocking light then most councils won't go anywhere near it.

The tree isn't on land that belongs to anyone who lives in this development. The farmer would have sold the field and its boundaries to the developer and the developer sold on bits of the field once they had houses on.

I posted this query in the N.Ireland board because over here councils are not responsible for roads as we have a separate Roads Service...but I am unclear about who has responsibility for the hedgerow. I don't believe it to be me or my neighbours as we have our perimeter fences, then beyond that there is a path which gives access to all back gardens, and then there is another fence, then the hedgerow, then the public highway. We didn't buy portions of the path nor portions of the hedgerow nor the tree, but they have to belong to someone! The tree is very large and bits of it have fallen off... not whole boughs but a six footish section did drop into my garden. There is no way I could tackle it myself, the tree is huge, far far taller than my house. I'd like to have an idea of ownership so that I can contact the right place regarding maintenance of the hedgerow and tree.

RuthnJasper

SnowyOwl wrote: »

The tree isn't on land that belongs to anyone who lives in this development. The farmer would have sold the field and its boundaries to the developer and the developer sold on bits of the field once they had houses on.

I posted this query in the N.Ireland board because over here councils are not responsible for roads as we have a separate Roads Service...but I am unclear about who has responsibility for the hedgerow. I don't believe it to be me or my neighbours as we have our perimeter fences, then beyond that there is a path which gives access to all back gardens, and then there is another fence, then the hedgerow, then the public highway. We didn't buy portions of the path nor portions of the hedgerow nor the tree, but they have to belong to someone! The tree is very large and bits of it have fallen off... not whole boughs but a six footish section did drop into my garden. There is no way I could tackle it myself, the tree is huge, far far taller than my house. I'd like to have an idea of ownership so that I can contact the right place regarding maintenance of the hedgerow and tree.

I think, in this case, that your best bet is to contact the Roads Service. Even if they aren't ultimately responsible, they (or one of their affiliates) may know who IS and can alert them to the need for works to this tree. Alternatively, you could try a Land Registry search (there may be a charge for this though; not very MSE - sorry!) - here's a link to the NI one: http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/lps/.

One other source of info might be the list of Tree Preservation Orders - have a try on here (again, this is the NI page): http://frontpage.woodland-trust.org.uk/woodsunderthreat/guide/designations/cguidecoll07.htm.

Best of luck with it - I can understand how frustrating this must be for you. x

browneyedbazzi

Sorry, I didn't realise until after I posted that you were in NI

RuthnJasper's suggestion of a land registry search is probably the best bet to identify the owner of the tree and therefore the person responsible for its maintenance....if you contact the Road Service and speak to someone who's helpful and having a good day they might do the search for you (and save you the cost!)

belfastgirl23

Sorry to hijack but a neighbour of mine planted a tree (or allowed it to grow!) a few years ago. In probably about 4 years it's now as tall as a street light anyway. It's starting to block the light a bit and I'm worried about the roots undermining my property - it's only a few feet from my boundary wall. I don't know the neighbour (they live behind my house) but have heard anecdotally that he's not particularly nice to deal with so I've been putting off tackling this, but am worried if I leave it another year it really will be a big problem. Any advice from the people who know about this kind of thing? Apart from sneaking out at night with a saw obviously

Mistral001

You need to find out who owns the tree. If you do not own it, you cannot force the owner to do anything with it, like cut it down or make it shorter. You can cut off branches which are over your property though. There is a quirky part of the law which says that if you cut overhanging branches, you have to offer the branches back to the owner as technicallly if you keep them, it will be theft. This is rarely done of course in practice as it would be only the meanest of neighbours who would prosecute.

I have come across a case in a new development where a tree several feet beyond a house-owner's fence actually is within the boundary of the property because the fence has not followed the exact boundary line as marked on the Land Registry map. Also, in some rural roads the boundary of the property actually is on the centre of the road. So it cannot not be automatically assumed that you do not owen the tree.

Find out if you own the tree . If you do, then you are in luck in many ways as you have control over what can be done with it, but the downside, is you are responsible for ensuring that it is not a danger to the public..