Local council's responsibility for tree sap damage

MartinM5

I have contacted my local council many times regarding damage to my car caused by sap deposits from council-owned trees. They do not accept any responsibility and refuse to do anything about the problem. To make matters worse they have been very curt and dismissive in their responses.
I live in a small cul-de-sac and the only parking that is available is under these trees. I do not own the trees and therefore have no right to remove them. The council does own the trees but refuses to accept any responsibility with regard to the damage they cause. Where does this leave me as a rate payer? Do I have any legal rights to address this?
It goes without saying that we all rely on cars for transport, employment, obtaining goods & for looking after those we care about. Unfortunately, I am not a wealthy person and cannot afford the investment I have made in my car to be degraded in this way. I need this car to last me several more years at least before I can even consider replacing it. I clean the car every week but the deposits are such that the car is continually covered in them and they subsequently damage the car's paintwork, & windscreen. They are also affecting the door mechanisms making them difficult to open.

Please don't dismiss this request as trivial (as the council continually does) please give it some consideration and (hopefully) give me some positive advice which I can use to remedy this situation. I'm sure I'm not the only person who struggles with this so hopefully it will be relevant to many more of your readers.

Thanks a lot for your help with this.

General_Grant

You might like to post in the House Buying, Renting & Selling — MoneySavingExpert Forum area. 
(You have posted in Employment, Jobseeking & Training.)

Alter_ego

Buy a car cover?

Sandtree

Odd to consider this an employment rights issue.

Where are you parking? On the road or your own driveway?

oh_really

Sandtree said:

Odd to consider this an employment rights issue.

Where are you parking? On the road or your own driveway?

Perhaps covered under training.

Undervalued

MartinM5 said:

I have contacted my local council many times regarding damage to my car caused by sap deposits from council-owned trees. They do not accept any responsibility and refuse to do anything about the problem. To make matters worse they have been very curt and dismissive in their responses.
I live in a small cul-de-sac and the only parking that is available is under these trees. I do not own the trees and therefore have no right to remove them. The council does own the trees but refuses to accept any responsibility with regard to the damage they cause. Where does this leave me as a rate payer? Do I have any legal rights to address this?
It goes without saying that we all rely on cars for transport, employment, obtaining goods & for looking after those we care about. Unfortunately, I am not a wealthy person and cannot afford the investment I have made in my car to be degraded in this way. I need this car to last me several more years at least before I can even consider replacing it. I clean the car every week but the deposits are such that the car is continually covered in them and they subsequently damage the car's paintwork, & windscreen. They are also affecting the door mechanisms making them difficult to open.

Please don't dismiss this request as trivial (as the council continually does) please give it some consideration and (hopefully) give me some positive advice which I can use to remedy this situation. I'm sure I'm not the only person who struggles with this so hopefully it will be relevant to many more of your readers.

Thanks a lot for your help with this.

Whilst they should be polite I can fully understand their position!

Taken to extreme, you would advocate that no tree should overhang any road so that you can park you car without any sap dripping on it or, heaven forbid, a bird sitting in the tree relieves itself?

What next, cull all birds in case one flying over this now barren land does the same?

Sorry, but you have bought a car despite having no private land on which to keep it (as many do). Now you want the public roads cleared of trees so that you car stays cleaner?

What about the rights of the rest of use who would rather live in a green and pleasant land?

Off topic (slightly) but don't get me started about people who park on the verge!

Sorry, but zero sympathy.

Practical suggestion - rent a garage!

TBagpuss

I doubt that the issue rises to the level of being nuisance in the legal sense, which is the only thing I can think of which might give rise to a responsibility on their part.

I'd suggest that you buy a car cover - you can get one for about £35 and fold it up and store it in the boot when you are not using it. 

Alternatively, you could look at parking a little further from your house where there are fewer trees

lincroft1710

MartinM5 said:

 Where does this leave me as a rate payer? Do I have any legal rights to address this?

.

Unless you live in NI, you do not pay rates. In England, Wales and Scotland, the issues you have with the trees have no impact on your liability to pay Council Tax. Being a CT payer gives you no legal rights in this matter

TELLIT01

What does the OP expect the local council to do?  Should they chop down all the trees?  The obvious solution is to park elsewhere.

nick74

I have this each year with the trees near my house and just consider it to be the price of having lovely mature trees nearby. I'm reliably informed that its not actually sap as such but 'honeydew' which is a byproduct of aphids that live on the trees. Its easily enough washed off the car and doesn't appear to cause any long term paint damage. The trees have already been there for 60+ years and will hopefully still be there long after my car has been squashed into a little metal cube!