Neighbour complaining about tree
Joey2
Forumite 11 Posts
My v elderly parents garden has a medium sized tree I think it's an Ash. Neighbour's do not like any shade in their garden. Parents tree
is near boundary fence & causes some shade half way down their (neighbour's) garden.
Previously neighbour demanded of gardener to cut it down, he ignored them. Now I've been informed by text from neighbour's they want to prune on their side to the full height (not just branches going over fence), but the person coming to quote said something to effect of it will make tree this size uneven and compromise trees stability in winds. So neighbour wrote suggesting best option is to remove the tree and will I share the cost ! As if Treating tree as a mutually agreed nuisance !
My Mother would want to keep ANY tree in her garden.
I do not live nearby. Where do we stand? Does anyone have
suggestion. I'm concerned their pruning could cause later bigger problems, can someone knowingly prune a tree knowing it will make heavy limbs uneven?
is near boundary fence & causes some shade half way down their (neighbour's) garden.
Previously neighbour demanded of gardener to cut it down, he ignored them. Now I've been informed by text from neighbour's they want to prune on their side to the full height (not just branches going over fence), but the person coming to quote said something to effect of it will make tree this size uneven and compromise trees stability in winds. So neighbour wrote suggesting best option is to remove the tree and will I share the cost ! As if Treating tree as a mutually agreed nuisance !
My Mother would want to keep ANY tree in her garden.
I do not live nearby. Where do we stand? Does anyone have
suggestion. I'm concerned their pruning could cause later bigger problems, can someone knowingly prune a tree knowing it will make heavy limbs uneven?
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Replies
Well options are.
1. Tell them to F*** O**.
If they persist and no one complains when it happens you will eventually end up with a "uneven and compromise its stability in winds" tree because some idiot with no knowledge will do it. They are not allowed to do this but will it stop them?
2. Let them remove it.
They pay all costs. Go for including the purchase of a new smaller tree as well.
3. Dump 1 ton of manure on their drive.
Serves them right.
Basically what I am saying is you have not provided more than 10% of the information required to know what may occur.
What are they like, what would they do, is any of it worth it? What can your parents afford to do. And many many many more questions.
People (idiots) will do whatever and not care about he consequences.
Can your parents afford a 25/7 guard to watch over it?
Yes they can take them up on it but it will be a civil mattter and very expensive. (the police will not be interested in bringing a criminal case for such a thing).
The neighbour is entitled to cut back any overhanging branches as far as the boundary. That's the law, without considering any caveats about stability, or how much money anyone might have.
That being the case, the best thing to do is take a series of photos showing the tree as it is now. Then, if anyone de-stabilises the tree, as assessed by a properly qualified tree surgeon, the tree may be re-stabilised or replaced and the cost claimed via the small claims procedure.
Once the photos are taken, there's no harm in advising the neighbour, in writing, of your concerns that they might upset the balance of the tree and the potential costs of rectifying that. Keep a dated copy.
As it's an ash tree, which frankly can be a nuisance if it sheds seeds everywhere in a residential environment, then nature may intervene. The disease ash die back will eventually kill a large proportion of the ashes in this country.
May you not have to sell at any time soon as this could become as issue you’d need to declare, but likewise may the neighbour decide to try tea & cake route & suggest replacing the worrying tree with something more acceptable to both at their expense.
Hassling seniors is unbecoming.
and this: "Hassling seniors is unbecoming."
In my own little armchair Machiavellian world I'd be tempted to 'sell' the tree to one of my more excitable mates and let the neighbours take it from there...
Why am I in this handcart and where are we going ?
If the tree was in the neighbour's garden and causing a lot of shade in your parents' garden, wouldn't you hope the neighbour would compromise?
An ash isn't a good choice for a garden - your parents could have two or three much nicer trees if the ash was taken down (now, before it becomes diseased and the full cost has to be paid by your parents).
You're not allowed to build on someones garden, or build so that your building overhangs a garden, why would you decide a plant is ok?
The tree is encroaching and seems to have got too big for its location.
Perhaps their 'assumption' regarding shared costs and more aggressive proposals are because they can't grasp that you do not see their point of view and are not proposing any solution yourself and are getting frustrated with you.
If the tree can't be safely cut back to acceptable size all round I would replace it, although not without regret. I'd find it hard to argue that to have something on my land which is encroaching on a neighbour is fair. So from my viewpoint, the neighbour offering to share the cost is quite good.
flower borders rather than a more mature looking garden so our tastes are at odds anyway from the start! I think the notion of shaded areas of any garden or shaded planting would be lost. I think if it's a reputable tree surgeon they've asked opinion of they may have been warned about risks of making a tree unstable and are now suggesting cheapest option which is convenient to them (with the opening line of we are about to prune) as they never wanted the tree there anyway and so suggest now going halves on it's total removal.
I have asked someone to go and photograph the tree to verify it's size etc
and note it's current shape hopefully this is before it's touched.
My Mother (the one who loves All trees and felt the planet needs them) is not at the property as she is ill, I'm not able to be at the property
as I'm caring for her hence the vagueness on is it an Ash. Thank you
for all the suggestions and advise. I'll begin with getting photos.