rules regarding trees

yellowbelle

Our property and land is a smallholding. At the very front there is a bungalow next door with a very small back garden. About 2 months ago the neighbour came round and asked us to cut down a tree as he is building a sunroom (which will take up most of his back garden). He says the tree in question will stop him getting sun into the sunroom. The said tree is at least 15 metres away from the boundary of his garden. Just wondered if anyone has expert knowledge of this and whether he has rights to ask for it to be removed.

divadee

No he has no rights to ask you to cut down your tree as far as I am aware. It's his tough luck. He's decided to build a sun room with no sun. Especially being so far from the boundary I don't understand how it would affect him that negatively.

AdrianC

He can certainly ask... But that's about all he can do.

Even if you were minded to agree, you may not be able to - is there a TPO? If the tree's large enough to be an issue for him THAT far from the boundary, then it's quite likely to be protected.

Mojisola

AdrianC wrote: »

He can certainly ask... But that's about all he can do.

Agree.

There's nothing he can do to force you to remove a tree unless it's actually damaging his property.

keith969

How high is the tree? Of course you don't have to cut it down, just depends on whether you like it or not. And if you do decide to get it cut down then obviously he should foot the bill.

yellowbelle

it is a very tall tree - must be about 35ft . It is some sort of fir tree. It makes me smile really as the whole 3 acre boundary( of which only the first tiny bit is on his boundary)is trees of varying kinds. The ones which affect his boundary at the front we have trimmed anyway but I certainly don't want my husband trying to cut down the tree in question. Also as there are outbuildings on our side near the tree there is a possibility that these would be damaged or that they would need moving which is a mammoth task. I just want to be clear regarding his right to light etc.

I don't think there would be any sort of preservation order on it. We certainly wouldn't be paying for it to be cut down either.

booksurr

so they have a "very small back garden" and you have at least 3 acres

the decent thing to do, the friendly thing to do, and the neighbourly thing to do, would be to remove the tree since it can hardly be affecting your ability to enjoy your land yet you appear to want to talk about rights to deny him his ability to improve the pleasure he gets from having you as a neighbour?

kinger101

yellowbelle wrote: »

it is a very tall tree - must be about 35ft . It is some sort of fir tree. It makes me smile really as the whole 3 acre boundary( of which only the first tiny bit is on his boundary)is trees of varying kinds. The ones which affect his boundary at the front we have trimmed anyway but I certainly don't want my husband trying to cut down the tree in question. Also as there are outbuildings on our side near the tree there is a possibility that these would be damaged or that they would need moving which is a mammoth task. I just want to be clear regarding his right to light etc.

I don't think there would be any sort of preservation order on it. We certainly wouldn't be paying for it to be cut down either.

If cost or needing to do it yourself is your only consideration, why not agree to it if your neighbour agrees to cover the costs of getting the tree and stump removed by a professional. But bear in mind it might be residence to nesting birds at the moment.

agrinnall

I'd agree with the previous two posters, and in the first instance ask your neighbour to cover the cost of a tree surgeon coming in to assess the tree and give options for felling/removal and trimming to a height that would allow to sun to reach his sun room.

PasturesNew

As it is he'd just asked. He has no "rights" as such.

You now need to look at the tree and decide whether you're prepared to chop it down. It might be that you had thought of doing it; it might be that the last neighbour'd asked you to keep it; it might be that you felt it was time for it to be cut back a bit.

On the other hand, it might be that the tree has a specific purpose for you, e.g. it might be shading YOUR sun room ....

So, you just have to think about what you want.

I was so pleased when my neighbour chopped down theirs without warning. It was 40' high and just 9' from my house and dropped stuff all of the time, 24/7/365.

yellowbelle

The reason we are loath to cut it down is that it provides cover into the other neighbours garden. The neighbour who is wanting the tree cut down lives in a small bungalow on the front facing the road. His bungalow was built after his adjoining neighbour (behind him) sold the small plot. Behind his bungalow is another smallholding with a renovated barn and a listed cottage in the process of being renovated all by the same family. This family are horders. Currently on the other side of our boundary there are at least 4 old touring caravans, an old car and a static caravan. All of which would be seen from our windows if we remove the tree.

I feel that he should have thought about the tree before he decided to have a sunroom built. Its his problem not ours. His bungalow is quite spacious so it isnt a question of needing more space. There is only himself and his wife living there and they go on holiday at least once a month for a couple of weeks so they arent even there a lot of the time

Booksurr - Just because we have three acres and he has a small garden - isn't our problem. The neighbour isnt exactly sociable. He never attends any village happenings or meetings and seems to spend most of the time he is there manicuring his front lawn. This morning I was awoken at 7.45 - bear in mind this is Sunday - by him using a chainsaw chopping up wood. No thought for any of his surrounding neighbours. He also complains about cockerels crowing in the vicinity and the sounds the pheasants in the fields make too