Nice People Thread No. 14, all Nice and Proper

ivyleaf

Brilliant news, Pastures :j it'll make a huge difference!

silvercar

Good for you PN. Hope your neighbours don't suffer from a water logged garden as a result.

The people we sold our house to, chopped down the oak tree that was in the middle of the garden, they now have a water logged garden as a result.

I thought that huge trees were meant to be chopped down in stages.

mystic_trev

PN Make them a cup of tea, and they might even get rid of the furrys for you!

hjd

PasturesNew wrote: »

Lots of standing around - I could do that job!

It's not just standing around, you know - you have to be properly trained to know exactly how to stand just so.
Coffee breaks - of course the timing is everything and so that requires proper training too..

michaels

Could you build 2 storeys? A downstairs bedroom is not normally a strong value feature. However given the hole development is fairly recent you may find their are covenants in place preventing further development.

Doozergirl

Could it be that the original planned house was too close the tree?

Oak trees often have TPOs on them.

GDB2222

hjd wrote: »

It's not just standing around, you know - you have to be properly trained to know exactly how to stand just so.
Coffee breaks - of course the timing is everything and so that requires proper training too..

Elfin Safety may be involved, too. They need to have guys on the ground to stop members of the public getting brained by large bits of oak tree.

GDB2222

PasturesNew wrote: »

Dunno. Re TPO ... bit late to worry about that now
It's just a solid trunk, about 24" wide and about 10' tall.
No idea if they're coming back later to remove that too, but all the rest's gone.

If one asks a professional/forestry company to chop down a tree with a TPO on it - and if they see the tag, would they have to legally stop, or carry out the client's instructions to down it?

It seems to be an offence, carrying a max fine of £20k. So, I can't see a professional outfit doing it without checking. Oh, and no contract to commit an offence is enforceable, so they wouldn't have to carry out the client's instructions.

CKhalvashi

michaels wrote: »

Could you build 2 storeys? A downstairs bedroom is not normally a strong value feature. However given the hole development is fairly recent you may find their are covenants in place preventing further development.

I have an ex-employee who has just battled the council for 9 months to let them convert a garage into a 4th bedroom with bathroom.

The reason for it wasn't to add value, but because they're both in their 80s, with his wife having severe mobility problems, making stairs impossible. She's lived in the property since the 1950s, and didn't want to leave it.

They were expecting to have to take a loan out to do it, but I managed to get grants for £6500 of the £7000 cost for them. Surely this is better for everyone (including the taxpayer) in the long term than nursing homes etc.

The council (the same one I used to represent) were very difficult to deal with from start to finish.

Doozergirl

PasturesNew wrote: »

That's how they keep themselves in work....

The process should be a simple man turning up to have a quick look and talk and jot down what's OK/what's not ...not the long/complex time-consuming process it is.

You put a lot of effort into asking for what you want, only to be told "No"....rather than being able to choose from what you would be allowed.

Same with a rejection. They just say "No. Start again" ...whereas they could have (verbally) said "No. That wall needs to just go back 1' and that's fine" - with the builder leaning over to draw in that new wall and them then looking down at the new line and 10 seconds later saying "Yep, good to go".

You are SO right!!