Neighbours tree blocking light

Grenage

What is it with people sending bloody notes?  Writing can and will be interpreted by different people in different ways.  Talk face to face!

Short of winning the chap over, there's not a great deal you can do.  If it's any consolation, he's 85 and you sound pretty young - he won't be around for much longer.

Davesnave

wksd said:

Davesnave said:

I expect that being a protected tenant the old chap has received grief in the past for his callous act of de-valuing the property, so he'll be on the defensive.

Then, a new neighbour arrives, who, instead of getting to know him, sends a passive-aggressive note about his tree.......

You're obviously having a bad day and feel the need to give your 20p to strangers. I suggest you find a new hobby.

I had to thank you for that. I'm having a pretty average day, but your comment lightened my late lunch hour.

As GDB22 points out, people of advanced age may have lost some powers of rational reasoning, which younger people take for granted, but writing notes instead of speaking directly to people from whom you want something is generally regarded as a passive-aggressive act, no matter what their age.

I was completely serious in what I said, especially the part concerning the  a possibility that the old man had suffered some form of abuse or coercion in the past.

Your post illustrates brilliantly how the written word may easily be misconstrued.

ElephantBoy57

wksd said:

The man has the garden as part of his tenancy. In that garden are two sycamores which currently stand at around 13m. They are not looked after at all. I bought the land registry and spoke to the landlord who was far more reasonable, but is concerned given the protected status of the tenant.
Is there anything we can do? I just want some sunshine!

It's unlikely that a sycamore would be protected. If the tenant is poor, send him some chocolates/flowers with a note apologising for the upset. Maybe he can be encouraged to your way of thinking?

TELLIT01

If the landlord is concerned about upsetting the tenant, he could give the OP permission in writing to cut back / remove the trees.

-taff

Your entire first post is all about how much your house is worth, how little the property next door is as if you paying full price for a house entitles you to doing what you like. Your neighbour doesn't want to chop the trees down, he's told you that. Short of sneaking in there at the dead of night and doing it yourself, you don't have any option where you get to do what you want to do.

If, as you allude to, you had made friends with him, why didn't you just ask him? I'd have been annoyed that a new neighbour, after having chatted, was too spineless to come and ask me about the trees and sent a note instead.

And I would have said no too, just because....It doesn't matter if he verbally abuses you, who cares? It doesn't matter if he verbally abuses his neighbours, you have no idea what they do to him. Maybe they jump and down on the ceiling, maybe they annoy him, it's nothing to do with you. Sticks and stones. If he physically abuses you, then you have a right to be affronted.

Davesnave

The OP is probably angry with themself for failing to spot such a basic problem, but this sort of thing can happen to those who are reasonably clued-up too. It happened to us in our first house when  the neighbour behind decided a  teenager was getting voyeuristic pleasure from viewing his partner outdoors through binoculars. The teenager claimed to be bird watching, but no matter, the line of leylandii went in at the sunny end of our short garden. We realised what that meant and moved before the issue developed and became glaringly obvious.

We didn't regret that move at all, but last week someone had a go at me for being 'defeatist' by suggesting a poster might do likewise in a loss of view/light situation. 

You need broad shoulders here!

robatwork

When did 2p worth become 20p?

gwynlas

The same time the tooth fairy startd leaving £1

melb

to the people who stated it was unlikely that a TPO would be put on a Sycamore tree, we have an area of land next to us with upwards of 40 Sycamore trees, all of which have TPOs on them, along with all the other foliage.  As the Tree Officer from our local Council stated with some glee, "the TPO relates to anything above the size of an acorn".  Sycamores really add very little to life and produce copious numbers of aphids and seedlings but I think I am right in thinking that their conversion rate from CO2 to oxygen is very low.  You have my sympathy!

wksd

-taff said:

Your entire first post is all about how much your house is worth, how little the property next door is as if you paying full price for a house entitles you to doing what you like. Your neighbour doesn't want to chop the trees down, he's told you that. Short of sneaking in there at the dead of night and doing it yourself, you don't have any option where you get to do what you want to do.

If, as you allude to, you had made friends with him, why didn't you just ask him? I'd have been annoyed that a new neighbour, after having chatted, was too spineless to come and ask me about the trees and sent a note instead.

And I would have said no too, just because....It doesn't matter if he verbally abuses you, who cares? It doesn't matter if he verbally abuses his neighbours, you have no idea what they do to him. Maybe they jump and down on the ceiling, maybe they annoy him, it's nothing to do with you. Sticks and stones. If he physically abuses you, then you have a right to be affronted.

The point on the house prices is that the tenant's long term status has significantly devalued the property at present, which is why the sale is so cheap. This might have played into the landlord's attitude, I just wanted to present facts.

We wrote a note because 1) it is the council guideline on dealing with neighbour's trees and 2) CORONAVIRUS????